Saving Fox
by veredgf
Summary: Scully decides Mulder deserves a vacation to lift his spirits. They head off to Canada when Mulder becomes extremely ill. He is taken to Hope Zion Hospital and things go from bad to worse. Set During XF season 10 reboot and the final episode of SH season 4.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: XPhile since back in the day and have become and avid fan of Saving Hope. Yesterday while talking to my daughter, The obvious came clear, I could write an XO and the shows will blend in easily!  
_

 _Also, if there are any medical discrepancies in this story, I take full responsibility. My medical knowledge is based on too many medical shows and plenty of googling. Feel free to tell me if I had made a terrible medical error._

 _Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Refrence: XF (S10E01 "My Struggle", S07E22 "Requiem")_

 _Background for those who know only one of the two series-_

 _"The X-Files" - A series about two FBI agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate the paranormal. Mulder believes in various unusual phenomena while Scully is a scientist who prefers to scientifically prove the impossible phenomena. She doesn't always succeed. The story takes place during the current X-Files series reboot. Mulder and Scully have been returned to their job in the X-Files after 14 years during which Mulder had become a recluse and Scully was working at a hospital being that she is also a medical doctor and a pathologist._

 _"Saving Hope" - A Medical drama that centers around Dr. Charlie Harris who was in a coma during the series first season and was wandering the hospital (Hope Zion, Toronto, Canada) as a ghost. When he woke up, he found he still had the ability to see ghosts of dead people and those who were near death or in a coma._

* * *

 **SAVING FOX**

"Road, road, trees, road, trees, house, road, chapel, trees, more trees, and more trees, lots'n'lots of trees—"

"OK! I get it! You're bored."

"Scully, I don't think I can take any more of this beautiful scenery. If you ask me, too much of the outdoors is not what I would consider healthy."

"I didn't ask you." Scully scowled.

"Do I detect a hint of dissatisfaction?" Fox Mulder glanced sideways with a cheeky grin at his partner. "I mean, it's not like I didn't beg you to leave me at home, now? And what did you say to that? 'Mulder, you will love it' 'Mulder it's just one night. Just a bit of fresh air'. Well, I hate fresh air, Scully! I like basement air. I think my body is fully accustomed to breathing in mold and dust and my skin is only suitable for night outings, and the most light it can take is that of a flashlight."

Scully frowned.

"I know you're frowning but let me just say—"

"Don't you dare say 'I told you so', Mulder or I'll—"

"I told you so, Scully."

She would have thrown something at him, had she not been driving, but since she was who she was, she just glared angrily at the road and wished it would end already. What the hell was she thinking? Of course Mulder would whine all the way. The guy hated vacations. The only time he took one was if he was forced to, and the last 14 years he spent in a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere and despite having the most amazing woods surrounding him, he never ventured outside. Never. He gave up on his car. Had everything delivered to him. He specifically ordered everything to come in at night so he didn't even see what was outside when he opened his door to take his groceries in.

She'd hoped that returning to work on his passion, The X-Files, would help with his depression, but this was true for maybe one or two weeks and then he was back to his old gloomy self. He would come into the office, throw pencils at her poster, toss one file after the other into the bin, mumble odd curse words as he mulled through other files, then he would kick the rubbish bin, pick it to toss more files into it, then kick it again.

She waited patiently for the glimmer to return to his eyes, and yet they still looked dull and disappointed.

So, despite knowing how much Mulder hated going out these days, she decided that maybe forcing a change of scenery on him would make the difference. Maybe he just needed another little shove. Maybe he'd just forgotten how much he used to like travelling and going to places. Back in the day all they did was move from one wood to the next. All the alien sightings were in these most amazing places. Also, many of the monsters they followed happened to live in the woods. Then again, when she came to think of those days, they also had quite a lot of horrific events in some of those woods, but it would steer his excitement up, and she so missed that enthusiasm in him. She didn't know if it will ever come back.

Her angry stance softened. She suddenly felt drained. All the elation and excitement she had built up towards this weekend excursion evaporated and instead she felt deflated and hopeless. Now, all she wanted was to go back home. Even worse, she regretted ever approaching Mulder about Tad O'Malley and dragging him back into the X-Files. Why did she bother telling Mulder about him? She had no idea. Maybe it was just that Skinner was the one who asked her and she had a soft spot for Skinner, and she knew that Mulder had a soft spot for him, too. Skinner had become a believer in the cause when he witnessed Mulder's abduction, and he was her only true friend during that time, and ever since Mulder's mental illness, Skinner was almost the only person, besides her, who cared about Mulder's well-being.

So it was probably a combination of both. She wanted the old Mulder back. Skinner was the one person she knew Mulder would listen to. And what surprised her was that he did. And what's more, there was actually a hint of the old Mulder when he met Svetta. Of course, she then got cold feet, because suddenly she realized they were being dragged back into the whole conspiracy. Suddenly she remembered why they had to run away and give it all up and she got scared. She especially worried that Mulder would move from deep depression, into a manic obsessed state. The guy always had to be at some form of an extreme. Normal was just not something Mulder did. She loved him for this but she also dreaded it because he would get so consumed by his desires and obsession that he would get lost and she was always the one who had to drag him back, and because he wasn't able to live like a normal person as it just bored him, he would slowly regress and become withdrawn and live within his tiny lonely world of paranoia and depression.

"Scully."

"What?"

"I'm not feeling too good."

"What?"

"My head. It hurts."

"I get it, Mulder. You don't want to go on a vacation. You don't have to convince me with fake ailments." She had given in. No excursion. First intersection and she will turn the car around and back home they'd go. No more vacation for them. Ever.

"Scully…"

Ok, this didn't sound like he was faking it. He sounded like he was in genuine pain. "Mulder?" She glanced sideways and caught a glimpse of his form going limp, then starting to thrash and rattle. _Shit!_ He was seizing!


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Reference: SH (S04E14-16)_

* * *

Zach Miller stretched his arms sideways and let out a super deep yawn. "God, I'm so damn tired."

"So we've all noticed," Charlie Harris pointed out. "Coffee?"

"No. Enough coffee for me. I think if they drew blood from me right now, it would smell like Espresso Roast. Nope, just have to somehow survive this shift decaffeinated."

"OK, then. I'll just go grab a cup for me," Charlie got up from the stretcher he was lounged on for the past hour and trudged towards the doctors' lounge for yet another cup of disgusting hospital coffee. He was covering a shift in the ER, and it just happened to be one of the slowest days ever. If things weren't going to pick up any time soon, he thought he would die of boredom.

The coffee pot was empty. Since he realized that there was a good chance that preparing coffee would turn out to be the most interesting part of his day, he decided he would at least make this moment worthwhile. He rummaged through cupboards in search for fresh filters, all the while putting lost items back in their place. Then, once the filters were discovered hiding behind a pack of paper towels, he went in search for a new pack of coffee. He was actually enjoying himself and it was quite surprising. He must have been extremely bored.

"Not such a bad couch."

Charlie Harris jumped and dropped the entire pack of fresh filters on the floor. He turned around and saw a man sitting on the doctors' lounge main recliner.

"Errr… Hi. Who are you?" Charlie asked cautiously.

"My name's Fox Mulder and this is a damn fine couch. Mind telling me where you got it? I'm thinking of redecorating my apartment."

"OK. I don't know where this couch came from. You know you're in the doctors' lounge and you're really not supposed to be here."

"Shame. I really was hoping to get some details about your decorator."

Charlie Harris had an odd feeling about the guy but there wasn't much to do about it. He was a bit odd, but in this line of work, odd was a relative term and he had seen plenty of odd to know that this was just a mild form. Still, he had to somehow get him out of here before Dawn came in and he would have to endure a lecture about the importance of having a place that the doctors could speak in freely and yadda yadda yadda.

"Are you a relative of somebody here? Can I help you?"

"No. I just like it here. Mind if I take a nap?"

Charlie sighed. "Yes, in fact I do mind. This is a doctors' lounge and you can't be in here." He opened the door and showed the man the way out. "C'mon, now."

The man didn't budge. _Brilliant_ , he'd have to get security.

"If you won't do this the nice way, I will get security to drag you out." All business now. No more niceties.

Finally the man got up. "I just wanted to get the details of your decorator. No need to get all grumpy at me," he said as he left the room.

"The waiting room is to your right," Charlie responded. The man had pissed him off, but at least he was gone.

"Who're you talking to?"

Charlie turned around. It was Shahir. "What?"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Some guy. He seemed to think he could just go into our lounge and that nobody would say a thing."

Shahir gave him an odd stare.

Charlie was confused. "What?"

Shahir waved his hand in dismissal. "Never mind. It will be over in a week."

"What? Shahir?" Charlie was losing his patience.

"Charlie, I don't have time for this right now," Shahir said, his tone laced with agitation.

 _What the hell?_

"What are you doing here anyway?" Charlie asked Shahir.

"There's an incoming trauma, some guy had a seizure and is now in a coma. I was called in to assess."

At last, a trauma. Granted, didn't sound like there was much to do, orthopedic-wise, but it was still better than nothing.

As Charlie followed Shahir, he could already hear the commotion as the patient was being rolled in by the EMTs.

Zach and Cassie were already gloved and gowned and rushing to accept the newcomer. Charlie headed to the supply trolley to get himself prepared, then his mind made a double take as he heard the bullet. Actually, he heard only the first two words of the bullet. The rest was lost to him as he realized that he had just met his patient two minutes ago at the doctors' lounge. He should have trusted his instincts. There was indeed something odd about that Fox Mulder guy.

He was a ghost.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Refrence: XF ("BioGenesis" "6th extinction 1 & 2", XF Movie "I want to believe")_

* * *

Dana Scully couldn't believe it. Here she was once again in a hospital with Mulder. How many hospitals have they been to since they started their journey? She'd stopped counting after a while. There were quieter times when they weren't working on the X-Files. The last hospital stay had been after Mulder was drugged and almost chopped to bits during that body part case in West Virginia. Since then it had been rather quiet on the medical front. Up to today, that is.

Mulder went into a grand mall seizure in the car and she couldn't revive him. The EMTs had to intubate him and he was transported to Hope Zion hospital in Toronto. As she was a doctor, she was allowed to join him for the ride, and it was good that she did, as he seized again during transport.

What the hell was going on with him?

She was worried sick and yet she had to think straight. Mulder had such a complicated medical history, parts of which she couldn't believe herself even though she had witnessed those parts with her very own eyes.

It was just that he was fine. She hadn't noticed any warning signs up until the moment he complained of the headache. It was just so sudden, and so severe. She had a very bad feeling about it.

Now they had just entered this hospital's emergency room and here she once again had to conceal most of his medical rep because there was just no way they would believe her without strapping her down to a bed and shoving her for observation at the psych ward. Luckily she had become very talented at finagling his medical issues through the years, and even though she was somewhat rusty, she fell right back into playing the part of the normal rational doctor that she once was.

As the EMT concluded the bullet, the medical team hefted Mulder from the ambulance gurney into the ER bed and began their initial examination. There was the trauma head and a young intern accompanied by a Middle Eastern doctor, whom she deduced was the neurosurgeon. Aside from those there was a forth doctor gowning up but he was behaving rather strange, Scully noted. Her training had been so thorough, she couldn't help but observe little details about her surroundings which she jotted in her mind and stashed for later use. She made a mental note to pay attention to that forth doctor but right now she had to give her utmost attention to her best friend, partner and ex-lover, whose limp form was sprawled on the hospital stretcher.

The medical team was busy hooking him up to the various monitors, inserting a catheter and fixing him with a fresh IV port to replace the port that was inserted in the ambulance which Mulder tore out during his second fit. A nurse was also just finishing gowning him up and Scully knew now was a good time to approach his bed. If all patient relatives had that insight, but well, this was this hospital's benefit that she was not only a relative, but also a doctor , and she knew that the best way not to get kicked out of the ER, was to wait until the initial assessment was over.

"Hi," she said as she approached the group of doctors. By then the forth doctor had joined them. Scully still noted he had an odd look in his face. He didn't look like he was into it, instead he seemed concerned, but for who? For Mulder? He didn't even know the guy. The other thing she noticed about him was that he kept looking behind him, as if he was expecting somebody to be there. She will get to the bottom of this, but it will have to be later.

"Hey, you came in with Mr. Mulder?" said the doctor she assumed was the trauma department head.

"Yes, I'm Dana Scully. Mulder is my… Partner. We're FBI agents."

The doctor raised an eyebrow . "FBI? You do remember that's you're in Canada, right?"

She couldn't help but smile despite herself. "Yes, it's quite obvious. We're on vacation."

"A-ha," the doctor said with a very obvious incredulous tone that said: _Partners... Right_. Then he straightened up and introduced himself. "Sorry, bad manners. I'm Dr. Zach Miller, trauma chief and today we have Cassie Williams, my trusted lackey, aka, intern, Dr. Shahir Hamza, head of neurosurgery and Dr. Charlie Harris, Head of Orthopedic surgery who is the second attending in the ER for this shift."

Scully nodded. It must be a slow day for Mulder to get such an illustrious team. She was glad. He needed all the help he could get and these guys seemed serious enough.

"So," Dr. Miller prodded, "has this sort of thing ever happened before?"

OK, trick question. Yes, Mulder has had seizures in the past, but they were related to abnormal brain activity caused by an alien artifact and some alien material that had gotten into him. So how does one reveal just enough so Mulder would be treated, but not too much or else she will find herself getting treatment as well. She took in a deep breath and replied. "Well, he did have one single episode but it was more than 15 years ago, and he hasn't had one ever since. He was prescribed anticonvulsants but his doctor decided to take him off the meds five years after that single episode and there was no reoccurrence.

"So it's possible that he might be epileptic." The neurosurgeon intervened.

She had no choice but to agree. If she were the doctor, that would have been the line of thought. "It's possible."

The intern pitched in. "CT scan?"

"Yup," Zach Miller agreed.

Scully excused herself. She headed to the relatives' lounge to wait for her partner to return from the scan. As she waited, she began to feel hungry and thirsty. She got up to search for a vending machine or a canteen. As she walked through the corridor, she observed the fourth doctor, i.e. the second ER attending, standing at the entrance of what she assumed was a supply closet and he seemed to be talking to somebody. He had his palm over his mouth as if he was trying to hide his conversation and he was glancing sideways, like he was making sure nobody was paying attention to him, and then he gazed directly into thin air, it was like he was staring at somebody who wasn't there. She decided to go past him and avoid eye contact. She couldn't help herself. The investigator in her just wouldn't let her off the hook.

As she walked past the doctor, she slowed down just a bit so she could eavesdrop on his 'conversation'. What came out of his mouth almost made her lose her balance.

"… You think your episode is due to an alien artifact? And they think I'm crazy. This is outrageous—"

"What did you just say?" Dana Scully cut into Charlie Harris' "conversation".

The doctor had the look of a kid caught stealing candy. "N…nothing."

Hell! That was no nothing! This doctor knew something he shouldn't know and she had no idea how.


	4. Chapter 4

_Brace yourselves – long chaper_

 _Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Refrence: XF ("BioGenesis" "6th extinction 1 & 2", "Terma" "Tunguska"), SH (Season 4 epsiode 14-16, Season 1)_

* * *

Once Charlie realized that the new patient who came in had already appeared in the hospital prior to his actual arrival, he went on the lookout for him. He had to do it without getting too much attention, and that meant he couldn't just disappear mid-trauma. He made a big fuss about the gowns on the trolley being a terrible batch and used the excuse to romp around the ER, supposedly to search for a better batch, but in reality, to search for his ghost.

This was the frustrating part with all the ghosts. They could find him whenever they wanted, but when he needed to find them, now that was a totally different story. In some cases it was easy - many ghosts hung in the morgue next to their body and many stayed beside themselves in the OR, or their hospital beds, but some were weird. Some never spoke, others hid and some were goddamn crazy, and this Mulder guy seemed right up the nut ally, and there was just no telling what was going in his mind and where he would like to be. Usually with these cases it was good to know something about the patient beforehand, but he had no time to find out. If only he hadn't thrown him out of the doctors' lounge… Of course! The doctors' lounge!

Charlie made a sudden back turn and dashed towards the doctors' lounge. He almost collided with a nurse pushing a trolley filled with urine specimens but managed to avoid the catastrophe at the very last second.

He slowed down his pace once he realized he was drawing the wrong kind of attention towards himself. Now, instead of dashing, he just walked with quick strides. He reached the doctors' lounge. He looked around and he saw that nobody was watching. He quickly snuck in. Sure enough, Fox Mulder was lying on the couch and he seemed fast asleep. Brilliant! Most ghosts were beside themselves with worry about their life or death but this one…

So, how does one wake up a ghost? Charlie couldn't believe he was thinking such thoughts. It sounded absurd, and yet, here he was, trying to wake up a sleeping ghost guy from his nap on the couch in the doctors' lounge. He was having weird thoughts of people coming in and sitting on that couch while Mulder was still sleeping on it. Would he just vanish? Would he wake up? Or maybe he would just continue sleeping? He'd never had that situation before.

As he debated his approach and moved back and forth within the lounge, he was taken aback when he heard his ghost open his mouth and save him the trouble of waking him up.

"So…. What's up doc?" Mulder said, while still lying on the couch.

"Apparently, not you." Charlie responded.

Mulder rose from his lying position and looked at Charlie. "So I figured I'm some sort of apparition."

Charlie nodded assent.

"And you can see me?"

Once again Charlie agreed.

"Wow!" Mulder seemed impressed.

Charlie was used to this, but he wasn't expecting Mulder's next response.

"Guess this excursion turned out far better than I could've ever imagined."

"Huh?" Charlie what baffled. The guy was in a coma and he was happy about it?

Mulder explained. "It's not that I like having seizures or being comatose, but I found myself a genuine, bona fide X-File!"

Well, that explanation didn't have the desired effect on Charlie who was still confused.

"I mean, look at you! You can talk to ghosts!" Mulder went on with extreme elation.

"Ahm… well…. You _are_ the ghost." Charlie reminded him, "and right now there's a good chance you could be dying. I really need to get back to you, I mean, to the real you, but I was hoping maybe you could help me with your condition. Possibly you have any idea what's causing it?"

Mulder snorted. "Damned if I do. Could be any number of things. Let's see - I have had holes drilled in my head, several car accidents, alien oil inside me, irregular brain caused by aliens, I was poisoned, drugged, shot at. You name it, I've had it. But I really think you should ask my partner. She's also my doctor and she can probably recite my entire medical history by heart. She has that knack."

Charlie was staring at Mulder with utter disbelief. "Forget it. If you're not going to be serious, then I'll find out the old-fashioned way. Alex did say I was becoming too dependent on my ghosts lately and I'd forgotten how to do plain old good fashioned medicine, anyway."

He strode out of the doctors' lounge and headed quickly to the supply trolley to re-gown and re-glove himself. By then the other doctors had already gathered around Mulder's form and were beginning their initial assessment. Charlie looked around him. Mulder didn't follow him back into the ER. He didn't know what to make of it. He looked back towards the stretcher Mulder was lying on and saw that Mulder's ghost hadn't reappeared next to his body, either. Then he realized he was being watched. A pretty red-headed woman, probably Mulder's partner ,was staring at him with such an intensity, he had to get a grip of himself and not avert his eyes, should she realize he was doing something out of the ordinary. Then her gaze went back to the man on the gurney and Charlie hoped this was just pure coincidence, but he had a strong feeling it was not.

He joined the other doctors at Mulder's bed. He didn't have much input on the case. Mulder was the only patient currently being treated in the ER and there were enough doctors to handle his case. On the other hand, he was the only doctor who could have the upper hand here. If only this patient's ghost was more cooperative. He looked behind, hoping that Mulder had finally come to his senses and joined them, but there was nobody there. There was a time when he wished there were no ghosts in his life, but he felt he was beyond that now. In fact, he was only having the surgery to satisfy Alex, but he didn't really want to give up his ability and deep down inside of him he had a feeling it had nothing to do with his tumor. If he was just hallucinating, he wouldn't have been able to know so many details about these patients. At first he was scared of his ability, but now he had gotten used to it. Even more, he liked being the connection between both worlds. If only people, and especially Alex, could accept him this way.

He looked behind him again. Still, no Mulder. He looked back at Mulder's limp body, and then gazed at his partner. _Shit!_ She'd caught him in the act. He had to stay clear of this one.

* * *

Mulder's gurney was wheeled away with Cassie Williams in tow. Charlie stayed behind with Shahir while Zach excused himself to take care of a number of cases that had begun piling up.

"You know," Shahir was saying, "I'm not sure he's totally unaware."

"What do you mean?" Charlie was confounded.

"When I was examining him, there were seconds I could have sworn he was following my finger, and then seconds he was just staring ahead at nothing. It's possible he's locked in, and if that's the case, we might be able to get him out of it. I just wish we had his medical background, but getting medical records from American hospitals is a tedious ordeal. We will have to work with what we have for now."

"Why don't you ask his partner? She's his doctor." Charlie suggested and then regretted it.

"What do you mean? How do you know that?"

 _Ooops_.

"The EMTs told me…" Charlie knew he'd said too much.

"I'm not an idiot, Charlie! You weren't around when the EMTs were here and you had no chance to talk to them." Shahir was annoyed in his 'Shahirian' way. He was about to continue his lecture when his phone buzzed. He took it out of his pocket, tapped it, read a message, and just left without explanation.

Typical Shahir. Luckily, Charlie was saved from having to completely shove the shoe into his mouth. He let out a relieved breath and went to search for Mulder's ghost.

* * *

Charlie went back to the doctors' lounge hoping to find Mulder there again, but not only was he not there, the room wasn't empty. He pretended to be looking for Maggie, and of course as she wasn't in there, he easily excused himself and continued down the corridor. Suddenly, Mulder was there. He seemed to be wandering the halls. Maybe he wasn't too concerned with his condition, but he was still hanging around the hospital, so obviously something, or maybe somebody, was keeping him there. He tried to make eye-contact and eventually Mulder caught on. Charlie motioned him into the nearest storage closet, and Mulder followed.

"We can't keep meeting like this, Dr. Harris," Mulder teased.

Charlie wasn't in the mood. He had to get some straight answers. "Your partner said you were FBI."

Mulder nodded.

"Can I ask what exactly you do in that position?"

"You can ask and I can reply, but I don't think you'll believe me."

"Try me," Charlie prodded.

"I tried before and you dismissed me."

"I'm sorry. It's just that I could've sworn you were saying something about Aliens. I must have misunderstood."

"No. You understood correctly."

"Seriously?!"

"Dead serious."

"Just about," Charlie mumbled.

"I hope not," Mulder said to that.

"Don't get me wrong, I truly want to believe you, but this just sounds like horse crap."

Mulder laughed. "I just want to point out that _you_ are the one who can talk to ghosts."

Charlie sighed. "Good point." OK, so maybe this guy was telling the truth. After all, he was living proof that unusual phenomena were possible. So, if a person can communicate with ghosts, then who's to say there aren't actual extra-terrestrials. Heck, maybe _he_ was one. He snorted at the thought. Alex would love this. NOT.

"Listen, maybe you can pass a message to my partner—"

Charlie put his hand up and broke into Mulder's sentence. "No way! I tried to pass a message once through another person with my abilities and it only back-fired."

Mulder seemed intrigued. "You were a ghost, too?"

Charlie took in a deep breath. He was feeling weary. "Let's just say that I was where you are now."

"Interesting." Mulder seemed deep in thought. "Did you always have this ability?"

"Nope. It started after I woke up from my coma."

"Really? So, if I wake up from my coma, it's possible I'd be able to talk with Ghosts, too?" The FBI agent seemed hopeful.

Charlie sighed. " _If_ , you wake up, and I don't want you to be disappointed, but usually what happened to me, doesn't happen to most people who wake up from a coma. Also, most people don't remember ever being ghosts or that they spoke to me in that condition, and anyway, my special 'condition' is probably the result of a tumor, and in one week I am having it removed, so good bye ghost talker, and hello Mr. Normal."

Mulder's enthusiasm wasn't dulled by Charlie's sobering response. He was extremely interested in Charlie and his abilities. Charlie had never met a ghost who cared more about him, than about himself. It was a new concept altogether.

"Listen, if I don't recall anything after I wake up, can you do me a favor?"

 _Now what?_ Harris wondered. "What?"

"Could you contact me at the FBI quarters?"

"Huh?" FBI? What the hell was he talking about? He was fucking Canadian. What did he have to do with the FBI?

"Just ask for Agent Fox Mulder, X-Files section. They will pass you on straight to me, no questions asked."

Charlie was incredulous. This guy was something else. "X-Files? Why would you want me to call you anyway?"

Mulder's ghost gave him a pleading look. "It's just something that I do."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I investigate irregular phenomena."

Brilliant. A freak expert. This guy was a freak expert, and he wanted to talk to him, aka, "The Freak". He nodded his head in disapproval. "Look, I'm happy that you find me interesting but first thing, I really take great care of my privacy and this whole phenomenon is a very private matter. I don't want it documented. I don't want to be studied like some bizarre experiment. And second, right now we have no idea what's wrong with you and possibly you might not have an office in the FBI in the upcoming future, so I think we should first try to deal with this."

"I might have an idea." Mulder said quietly.

Charlie waited for him to continue.

"You're not going to like it." Mulder said and stared at the floor.

Charlie inhaled. "What?"

Now it was Mulder's turn to take a deep breath.

Charlie embraced himself for what was going to come out of Mulder's mouth. _Keep an open mind, Charlie Harris,_ he told himself.

Then Mulder told him his story. It was just out of this world. Alien abductions, alien bounty hunters, super soldiers, conspiracy, a group of people trying to take over the world with the help of alien technology. Charlie listened, but it was just too much to take in.

Then Mulder went into particular detail about a specific event which he believed could be connected to his current condition. "You see, what Scully didn't tell you about the last time I had a seizure was that it was when I was having irregular brain activity. I had been exposed to an alien substance that we called 'the black oil'. It was some form of conduit that an alien entity used to enter people's bodies and take them over."

Charlie snorted at that.

Mulder didn't seem to take his reaction badly. He seemed used to it. "I know. It sounds crazy. It _is_ crazy, but that's what happened. I was exposed to the black oil as an experiment. We didn't make much of it. I was OK for a number of years after that, until we were on a case that involved a rubbing taken from an alien object, probably part of a spaceship, found at the Ivory Coast. When I came in contact with that rubbing I began to experience severe headaches, I was hearing sounds and eventually I was hospitalized in the psych ward."

"No wonder," Charlie said under his breath.

Mulder smiled, but continued. "They found I had irregular brain activity and it was taking over my brain. I was so consumed by it; I was locked inside myself, most of the time unable to communicate."

Charlie's phone buzzed. He snatched it from his pocket, and checked his messages. There was an incoming trauma. An MVA. He had to go. "I'm sorry, there's an emergency." He opened the door to get out.

Mulder's ghost called behind him. "You have to believe me."

Charlie looked back into the closet and covered his mouth as he spoke back to Mulder. "Look, you have to understand that I can't do anything with your information. It's just too far out. People are already thinking that I'm crazy enough as it is."

Mulder smiled sadly. "You're talking? What do you think people think of me?"

"Just talk to my partner, Agent Scully. She can confirm everything, and she can help me." He pleaded with Charlie.

Charlie was torn. "Seriously? You think your episode is due to an alien artifact? And they think _I'm_ crazy. This is outrageous—"

"What did you just say?" It was Scully. She'd snuck behind him when he wasn't paying attention. What a mess.

Mulder just shrugged.

 _Great_. How was he going to get out of this one? "N… nothing," He answered her, but he knew the shoe was deep in his esophagus by now.

She stared into his eyes intently. It was almost enchanting. Then his phone buzzed again. _SHIT!_ He had to get to the ER. "Excuse me," he said to Scully and started running like crazy.


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

* * *

Cassie Williams had the glorious duty of tagging along with critical patients to various scans and procedures, being that she was the junior doctor on the team. She expected it to be pretty routine. This patient was in a coma, so all she had to do was just have him shoved into the CT machine, have his head zapped with some radiation, and once done, she would take him back to the ER.

She was hoping his case was surgical so she could scrub in with Shahir, and so she made the effort despite it being pretty boring.

As the gurney was being rolled, Cassie kept glancing at her patient's vitals and at the patient himself. So far all was well. The only thing that truly bothered her was his eyes. She had a feeling he was staring at her, like he wasn't quite out of it. It gave her the creeps. She hoped it was just her vivid imagination, but she could have sworn he was aware.

Finally, she had arrived at their destination. The technician got Mulder settled in the CT machine while Cassie waited for him at the control room. She patiently waited for the scan to finish. She noted that the results didn't explain anything regarding the patient's condition. As far as the CT scan was concerned, Mr. Mulder's brain seemed pretty normal.

Cassie sighed, letting the technician know of her disappointment with the results. Probably there was no surgery in this patient's future, which meant that she was doing all this scut work for nothing.

She went into the CT room to help with Mulder's transfer back to his gurney, as she was about to grab hold of his bed sheet, she let out a shocked yelp. Mulder's hand grabbed hers. She looked at his face. He was looking at her, almost piercing her eyes with his intense stare. She averted her eyes. Did he just regain consciousness?

He let go of her palm, but now he was tapping it, she looked at his fingers and realized he wanted to write something down.

"Ok, OK," she said to him. "One second, I'll get you a pen and a piece of paper." She looked back at his face, expecting him to say something, or to at least nod an agreement, but he just kept staring intently directly into her eyes. It spooked her completely.

She rushed to the control room and grabbed the first pen and piece of paper she could find. Then she rushed back to Mulder's bed side, and put the pen in his hand and made sure he could reach the piece of paper. Mulder began scribbling right away. His penmanship under the circumstances wasn't the greatest, but she soon figured out what he had written. She looked at his eyes again. Still the same stare. Did she actually register in his mind? She had no idea. Then, as she kept staring at his face, she could see he was slipping back into his coma. It was freaky.

* * *

Dana Scully was frustrated. Mulder was still at the scan, while this Dr. Harris, whom she believed had some information that might help, had left the ER for an emergency procedure in the OR. She really needed to find out what was going on, but instead she was stuck in this hospital's waiting room doing nothing.

She caught a glimpse of a gurney being rolled back into the ER. She got up to check if it was her partner. Indeed it was. She rushed to his side and accompanied him back to the cubicle he was assigned to.

She wanted to ask the junior female doctor if there was anything on the scan, but when she looked up and opened her mouth to speak, she noticed that the young doctor had a strange expression to her face. "What's wrong?" She asked.

The intern was startled out of what must have been a reverie. "What?"

Scully prodded. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

The doctor seemed worried. Scully noted she was uncomfortable about disclosing whatever her problem was.

"Look, I really need to speak with my superior before I discuss anything with you."

Scully understood the doctor's reasoning but this was Mulder on the gurney and right now was not the time for protocol. "Look, I'm not only his partner, I'm also a doctor, I think I can handle anything you will say to me."

The younger doctor seemed very unsure of the situation.

"Please," Scully just about begged, "Please tell me what's wrong."

The intern stared into Scully's eyes and Scully could see that she was feeling upset, but also compassion. She shoved her hand into her coat pocket and came up with a piece of paper. She handed it over to Scully.

Scully read the note. _What the hell?_ "What is this?"

Dr. Williams pointed at Mulder's form. "He wrote it."

Scully's heart missed a beat. "What?" Her glance jumped to Mulder's face. She searched for a hint of life, but Mulder wasn't there. His eyes were blank and empty. "I don't understand. Did he wake up?"

The intern seemed at a loss. "I don't know. It was very strange, he grabbed my hand and he was staring directly at me. He didn't talk or make any particular facial expressions but he wanted to write something and I gave him a pen and paper and this is what he wrote."

Scully was beside herself. _Dammit Mulder! Why can't anything be simple with you?_ She stared at the piece of paper in her hand. It was another piece in the puzzle, only that she kept coming back to that same piece. The note was written in Mulder's handwriting. Yes, the writing was somewhat more crooked than usual, but after so many years, she could recognize his penmanship, and what Mulder's note said was just a name: 'Charlie Harris'


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Refrence: XF ("BioGenesis" "6th extinction 1 & 2", "Terma" "Tunguska", "Elegy"), SH (Season 4 epsiode 14-18)_

* * *

Scully slowed down her pace behind Mulder's gurney. She stared at the note Cassie Williams left in her hands. It seemed all roads lead to Charlie Harris. The irony was, that out of all the doctors who were treating Mulder, Harris was the one that Mulder, supposedly, didn't need. And what to make of Dr. Williams' story? Did Mulder actually wake up enough for him to pass on a message? And why did he write Charlie's name?

She approached Mulder's cubicle. She could hear Cassie narrating to Dr. Hamza the events of the CT scan. The neurologist listened intently. He didn't seem too surprised.

"Well, I believe he's locked in and what you just told me, confirms it." He said to Dr. Williams.

But Williams was still confused. "Why do you think he would choose to leave me a note with Charlie's name?"

Hamza seemed to think about this. "Are you sure that's what he wrote?"

Scully intervened. " _I'm_ sure, and you can see for yourself." She proffered him the note Cassie had given her a couple of minutes before.

Hamza snatched the piece of paper from her hand and examined it thoroughly. Finally he looked back at Scully. "I don't know what this means."

Scully wasn't too surprised. It all came down to this Dr. Harris, then.

"In the meantime, I want to hook him up to an EEG and monitor his brain activity." Hamza said and went off to talk with the nurses.

Scully was left alone with Mulder. She got up on his gurney beside him and huddled as closely as she could with his unresponsive body. "Mulder, if you can hear me, please let me know what's wrong? I want to help you. I need you and I can't lose you."

She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. She could feel tears welling up but she didn't want to open her eyes. This way, she could imagine he was fine and was just sleeping by her side. She didn't want to open them and see his blank stare. There had to be some reason for all of this. There had to.

Suddenly she heard the sound of a curtain being drawn.

"Hey," It was Dr. Harris.

She opened her eyes with a start. It was too late to jump off of Mulder's bed. She slowly got up and straightened herself, then looked at Dr. Harris. "I think we need to talk."

The blond doctor didn't utter any words; he just nodded and gave her an understanding look. He then motioned for her to follow him. They left the ER. He seemed to be looking through the windows of the various rooms in the corridor. Finally, they entered an empty one.

He quickly made sure the blinds were closed, and then he finally turned towards her and spoke. "OK, I have something to tell you but you will probably think I'm crazy."

She looked into his eyes. He didn't seem crazy. In fact, there was something very comforting about him. He sounded like a good person. It was a strange thought. It had no scientific basis, it was just a feeling she had. "Dr. Harris, I've seen and heard plenty of crazy in my life, just try me."

He smiled awkwardly. "Well… usually I don't reveal this to patient's relatives. There's no way I would be taken seriously if I did, but I understand that you have been exposed to… unusual circumstances… unusual people…" he trailed off.

Scully could feel his great discomfort. She had her suspicions and she wasn't sure she wanted them confirmed, nor was she sure that she wanted them unconfirmed. She raised her eyebrow at Charlie and he seemed to pick up on her cue.

"OK," he inhaled and spoke, "I… talk… to spirits." He stared down at his hands as if he had admitted the most terrible embarrassment.

OK, her suspicions were confirmed. There was something different about him. "You mean, Ghosts?"

"Ghosts, spirits, apparitions, lost souls. I don't know exactly know how to call them, but that's what they are, I guess."

Scully recalled her own 'Ghost encounter' during the Harold Spuller case. The recollection sent shivers down her spine. Then she gave it some deeper thought and she realized that in Spuller's case things were different. First thing, those were ghosts of actual dead people, second, they spoke to her but she couldn't communicate with them, and third, she had come to believe that her experience was connected to her own condition at the time. To her cancer and her mental state of mind.

She looked up at Charlie. "Can I ask you something personal?"

He nodded.

"Are you, by any chance, sick? I mean, with something… terminal?"

Charlie Harris' eyes widened with surprise. Scully had a feeling she was spot on. He drew in a deep breath. "Wow. Mulder said you were something else. Wow…"

She asked him again. "Well? _Are_ you?"

"It's not terminal. At least I think it's not."

"So, you _are_ sick, then?"

"I was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor, a meningioma, but it's benign. I'm having it removed next week."

So, it was possible these circumstances were causing him to see and hear things, Scully mulled over the information she now had. Still, from what she had heard back in the corridor, no hallucination could provide him with such detailed information.

"Look, Mulder wants me to tell you something. He thinks it will help with his condition." Charlie continued.

OK, she will budge. A good scientist didn't disregard any information without further examination and for now, she will treat this as data collection, if nothing else. "OK, Dr. Harris—"

"You can call me Charlie," he told her.

She smiled. "OK, Charlie, what did Mulder tell you?"

He proceeded with telling her about Mulder's ordeal with the black oil and the alien artifact. She listened. She knew this was no hallucination. This doctor had no way of knowing all of this, unless somebody had told him, but to accept that he got all of this from Mulder in his ghost form? It was so far out. There had to be a more logical explanation. The only other people who had this inside info were Skinner and the Cigarette Smoking Man and possibly some of his minions. Maybe this Dr. Harris was one of them. It made sense in a way. If Harris could convince her he was talking to Mulder, he could convince her to do certain things under the false pretense that these were Mulder's requests. This way she would help the CSM and his people hurt her partner while believing she was trying to help him.

She felt her body going tense and her heart grow cold. "OK. Nice try, Dr. Harris."

The doctor looked surprised at her unexpected reaction. "What?!"

She opened the door to leave. "I've heard enough."

"Mulder?" that was Harris, his voice was tinged with worry. "What's wrong?"

Scully looked behind her and saw that Charlie wasn't talking to her now. He was staring at an obscure corner and talking into thin air. His worry lines had suddenly deepened. He then looked back at her. "Something's wrong. You have to go back to him." He said, urgency lining his voice.

She couldn't believe it. He was still playing that silly game with her. She gave him a look of disdain. "Seriously?! Haven't you had enough of this charade?!"

Instead of responding, he dashed passed her, and headed in the ER's direction.

This took Scully off guard. One moment she just stood there, a confused look on her face, the next moment she took off with the sprint of a superb athlete, following in Charlie's footsteps.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

* * *

Mulder's head was pounding. It seemed so unfair. If he was a ghost, why should he feel pain? Isn't there some rule that a ghost's life is pain-free? It was excruciating. He felt like the entire world was screaming at him and he couldn't shut it out. When will it stop? Who could he bribe to make the torment cease?

Just a second ago everything was relatively fine. Charlie Harris was doing his utmost to convince his skeptic partner that he was actually communicating with him. Charlie had his work cut out for him. Scully was almost impossible to convince, and this time was no exception. Even though Scully had seen so much and had been through so much, she still insisted everything had a logical or scientific explanation behind it. Even if she couldn't find it, she refused to accept it. Even when she was the one experiencing the bizarre phenomena, she would not believe it. Worse, she'd feel ashamed to even admit it. He used to get annoyed at her when she got like this. Not anymore. That was her coping mechanism. That was how she clung to the world. He would lose his grip every now and then and Scully was his anchor as she tethered herself to the world through science and plausibility.

It looked like Charlie was losing his battle. Mulder noted how Scully's attitude towards Charlie changed. Behavioral science made him pay plenty of his attention to body language and Scully wore her emotions on her sleeve. Initially she seemed to have a liking for Charlie but as Charlie continued detailing what Mulder had told him, he could see Scully's appreciation for Charlie dwindle until her stance changed from approval to disgust. It was a powerful transformation to watch. Mulder was hoping that Scully would believe Charlie because he had information that was only privy to them. Trust Scully to find a plausible explanation that would turn things around. Sometimes she was dead on the money. Not this time. Of all the times he needed her to trust. He needed her to believe. He wanted to scream at her. He wanted to shake her, but he was a ghost. He had no such privilege. So if he wasn't allowed to touch her and he couldn't talk to her or scream at her, why was he allowed to feel? He felt hurt, upset, and now he felt pain.

He blinked. He looked around. Bright lights. Not only was the loud noise assaulting him, now the strong piercing light bore into his eyes. He shut them tight. But he couldn't shut his mind and it was under a brutal attack. He screamed bloody murder. He wished he could die. STOOOOOOP! His mind screamed. He couldn't hear himself. He couldn't hear anything aside from the endless sounds in his brain. He couldn't determine their source or their meaning. He knew they had a meaning, but he was too weak to cope with all the information poured into him. He felt like a conduit, but he also felt like he was the wrong conduit. He was unsuitable for this. Why did it have to be him?

Suddenly it just stopped.

He heard voices. He could understand them.

"Mulder! Mulder! Can you hear me? Open your eyes! Mulder, please open your eyes." It was Scully.

He was scared of being assaulted by sounds and more light if he opened his eyes, but Scully sounded so desperate. He made the effort. With great trepidation he gradually let his eyes open. The light was still too strong. "Too bright…" he rasped. Was that his voice? His _real_ voice?

"Turn down the lights," Scully was ordering, and her command was obeyed immediately.

He smiled. Finally he opened his eyes and he saw her. She looked tired and beautiful at the same time. She gave him her sad and happy smile. That look she saved for his many hospital stays. So many hospital stays. So many times waking up to Scully's sad/happy face. It's not that he wanted to make her sad, but waking up to her expression was the best thing.

"I thought I'd lost you for good this time," she was telling him.

But was it really over? How did they manage to wake him up? All of a sudden he had a very bad feeling. This was only temporary. "Scully… I need to talk to you."

"I'm here," she smiled at him, still worried sick, he could tell from her eyes.

"Alone." He stressed.

The medical team excused themselves.

She grabbed a chair and then grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "What is it, Mulder?"


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

* * *

Charlie was feeling drained. What a roller coaster. This Mulder was sure challenging his abilities. He couldn't believe he was thinking about it, but the thought of not having to deal with the turmoil of not only the living but also of the dead or those who were on the verge of death, sounded enticing after the day he had had.

He was sitting in the waiting area of the hospital lobby, waiting for Alex to come in for her shift. They still had a few hours to pass together before his shift was over. He looked forward to seeing her. He needed his sounding board so desperately.

Aside from Alex and Kristine, he kept his ability a secret. He was truly regretting revealing himself to Mulder's partner. What if this Agent Scully talked and he would be disqualified as a result? What _was_ he thinking? How did Mulder manage to convince him to talk to her? He had stuck by the warning The Great Randel had left him and so far that had worked fine for him. Maybe some people thought he was a bit odd, but as long as he didn't delve too deeply into the cause of his weirdness, he was able to get away with it. Especially, since he had such a good rep.

He thought he could help Mulder. That's why he ventured out of his comfortable hiding and spoke with Scully, but once the words had left his mouth he knew he had made a mistake. He was hoping that now that Mulder was awake, he would be transported back to the States and that will be the last he'd have to deal with him and his partner.

He leaned back and let out a deep sigh.

"You think _you're_ having a bad day? Imagine mine."

 _What the—_

Charlie did a double turn. This couldn't be happening! Mulder's ghost was sitting beside him. What now? Why wouldn't this guy leave him alone?

He wasn't in the mood. He didn't want to help anymore. "Go away," he said quietly, hoping nobody had noticed. He was not going anywhere. No. He was waiting for Alex. He'd done everything he could for Mulder, and it might have possibly cost him his career. In a week he was going to have his surgery and he might not be able to help ghosts any longer. He might as well start getting used to it.

He could feel Mulder's presence next to him. When a ghost was really close to him physically, that's when he could actually feel it. When he first saw Mulder there was some distance between them and he didn't realize, but now Mulder was sitting right beside him and the air felt prickly. He refused to look at him. He stared at his hands. He wanted Alex to be there already but she was running a bit late today, apparently.

Unfortunately, despite wanting very much to be left alone, his thoughts began to trail and to wonder: why Mulder was back in the ghost realm? _NO, Charlie!_ He ordered himself. _Don't go there. You've done enough._

As he was forcing himself to ignore Mulder and the circumstances he was in, he heard rushing heels approaching. He knew this wasn't a good sign. He had a strong notion those heels were meant for him.

"Dr. Harris," he heard a panting Dana Scully behind him.

He turned to look at her. "I know."

* * *

"I'm sorry for not believing you," Dana Scully was telling him in the supply closet they were hiding in.

Charlie leaned on the shelves behind him. There were no chairs in the closet and he was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. "What changed your mind?" he asked her.

"Mulder changed it."

Charlie looked at Mulder's ghostly form.

Scully caught his glance. "Is he here with us right now?"

Charlie nodded.

Scully smiled sadly. "Mulder's condition could be fatal if we don't find a way to help him."

Charlie looked upwards and heaved a deep breath.

* * *

Alex Reid was late. Trust it to Luke to throw the motherload of all tantrums just as she was getting ready to leave for her shift. The distraught look on both her child's face and the sitter's face was such that she couldn't help herself. She was a problem solver by nature and she had to solve this one, even though she knew it meant being late for her shift. Of course her tardiness was punished. Dawn called her as she was driving in and reprimanded her. Excuses didn't work with Dawn so Alex just shut up and listened until the tirade was over.

The second end result of the events was that there was no Charlie waiting for her in the lobby. She would have to call him and apologize. Luckily he didn't throw tantrums like Luke did. She smiled at that silly thought.

She was heading in the direction of the locker room, when she caught the sight of a boy, a teenager, standing in the middle of the lobby with a very lost look to his face.

Once again, instead of heading straight for work, her nature got ahead of herself. Another problem presented before her, and she had to solve it, i.e., help the supposedly, lost young guy.

"Hi," she said to the confused teen as she approached him.

He looked around. "Hi."

"Can I help you?"

He was a very serious young man, but she could see a faint grateful smile on his lips. "Yes. Thanks. I'm look for Charlie."

She was a bit surprised, but possibly this boy was related to a case Charlie was handling. "Dr. Charlie Harris?" she was making sure.

The boy nodded.

"Are you patient or a relative?"

"I guess I'm a relative. My father told me to find Charlie."

"OK," Alex smiled at the boy, "What's your dad's name?"

"His name's Fox Mulder."

Weird name, Alex thought. "OK, do you know where your father is?"

"Not really."

Strange, but not unheard of. Possibly he'd called his son in and asked him to talk with his doctor. She smiled at the boy again. "OK, let's find out where your dad's been stayin', then."

The boy nodded but didn't smile. So young and yet so serious, Alex thought as she began walking towards the information center.

Once there Alex quickly got Mulder's details. "Your dad's in the Emergency Room. Let's go talk to him first and hopefully Charlie will be there as well."

* * *

As Alex entered the emergency room she caught sight of Zach heading in the direction of the doctors' lounge. "Zach," she called out to him.

The lanky doctor turned around. "Alex Reid," Zach feigned surprise, "what brings you to this corner of the Earth?"

"Why, it is you, Dr. Miller. I am so drawn to you," she said, mockingly.

"As you should be, my dear," he returned in same.

"Zach," Alex changed to a more serious tone, "Do you have a patient named Fox Mulder? His son is here. He said that his dad told him to speak with Charlie."

Zach raised an eyebrow at Alex's last sentence. "I don't think so."

Alex was surprised by Zach's response. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Fox Mulder has been in a coma for the majority of his stay in our magnificent hotel. I think he was aware for possibly two or three minutes during which he spoke with the woman who came in with him and I'm certain he didn't call anybody."

Once again Charlie attracts weirdness. What the _hell_ was going on? "Maybe his friend called him. What's her name?"

"Dana Scully. She's his partner. They're FBI agents."

"FBI?"

"Yes. On vacation."

Alex turned around to speak with the boy whose name she still didn't know. "Maybe Dana Scully called you?"

"My mother? No. Not this time. It's my father. He needs help. I need to find Charlie."

Alex sighed. "OK, let's go find him then."


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Reference: XF ("BioGenesis" "6th extinction 1 & 2", "My Struggle, part I")_

* * *

"What happened?" Charlie asked.

Scully sighed. She thought they'd finally found peace and quiet. They'd left those times behind them. Mulder wasn't exactly a happy camper at times but he was alive and safe, and he was well. He was healthy. _She_ was healthy. It wasn't quite the life she'd seen herself living, but circumstances changed and she had come to like this new life. At least she thought she did until they were sucked back into the X-Files.

She realized that she'd been living on the sideline of her chosen life. She didn't know it until they were back with the bureau investigating new irregular phenomena. Even as a doctor, performing cutting edge surgery, she still wasn't feeling the same thrill as she did when she was working on the X-Files.

She had made her choices and at the time she knew they were the right ones, but now she knew where she truly belonged and she was feeling content, but she realized it wouldn't be the X-Files without the conspiracy, without people setting up to stop them from finding out the truth, and right now Mulder's life was in jeopardy, and she felt this was no coincidence.

"Well?" It was Charlie.

Scully realized she fell into a reverie and snapped out of it. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"What happened?"

"They gave Mulder Phenytoin for the seizures because the Lorazepam wasn't doing the trick, and he came out of the coma, but it was only temporary. It'd happened before. Phenytoin slowed his brain activity to a degree that enabled him to communicate, but its effect doesn't last. When Mulder became aware, he realized that his awareness was only temporary and he asked me to talk to you and he told me you were the real deal. That he could connect through you to me when he's unconscious."

Charlie appeared surprised. "He remembered?"

"Yes. Is that unusual?"

"Highly unusual. It's the reason I usually don't discuss this. When people wake up they have no recollection of ever talking to me or that they had an outer body experience."

Scully sighed. Trust Mulder to be a special case, but then, it shouldn't really surprise her. He was exposed to so many things and he was a true believer in many phenomena, maybe this enabled him to see within his subconscious and thus he was able to remember.

"Who's here?" Charlie asked out of nowhere.

"What?" Scully was confused.

"Mulder just said that somebody was here, but I can't figure out who it is. He's in pain again. It's not looking good," Charlie said with grave concern.

"I have to get back to him," she felt her heart pounding as adrenaline began rushing through her.

* * *

Alex Reid let out a frustrated huff. Charlie wasn't answering his phone. She hated when he didn't answer. It was never a good sign and she had alarm bells ringing in her head. Mega alarm bells. "Dammit!" she blurted out, then realized she had a young person with her and she quickly apologized. "Sorry. I just can't reach Charlie."

The teen had a strained look to his face now. It was almost like he was in pain. Alex became alarmed. "Are you alright?"

"It's not me," he said through gritted teeth. "It's my dad." Suddenly he collapsed to the floor as he pressed his palms to his temples and groaned.

"Oh my God!" What on Earth?! This kid was fine just a few seconds ago.

Alex looked around. She saw a nurse rushing towards them. "Get me a stretcher! We need to get him to the ER!"

"No," the boy said weakly. "Charlie… Get me to Charlie, please…"

"You're in no state to go anywhere." Alex crouched beside him and held his wrist as she felt for his pulse. She'd expected an erratic, rapid beat, but instead the boy's pulse seemed normal. She was confused. His symptoms didn't match his pulse reading.

She looked at the boy's face. "What's going on here?"

The boy stared deep into her eyes. "Charlie…"

Alex sighed. Obviously this was not a normal situation. Her training said that she should have the boy admitted, yet her instincts said, listen to the boy. She decided to go with her instincts. "If I'll support you, do you think you could walk?"

The boy nodded.

Alex grabbed his left hand. "Put your right hand over my shoulder," she said as she wrapped her left arm around his waist. She then slowly got him to a standing position. The boy began to sag, but she quickly steadied him.

They began to walk, albeit gingerly, towards the end of the corridor. Alex remembered that Charlie used the closet at the end of that hall many times when he had to talk with a ghost privately. She hoped she was right because she had no idea if the boy would be able to go much further in his condition.

Just a few more steps. It seemed to take them forever to get to their destination. Finally they stood in front of the closet door. She could hear muffled voices; Charlie was definitely in there, and there was a woman with him. She lifted her hand to knock on the closet door, when it was abruptly opened by a red headed woman with beautiful blue eyes.

The woman seemed in a hurry, but she was startled to see Alex standing in front of her. Then her eyes widened in total surprise. Alex saw she wasn't looking at her anymore, but at the boy she was still supporting with her other hand.

"Oh my God!" the redhead let out in shock. "William!"


	10. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

* * *

Charlie was just about to dash behind Scully back to the ER, in hope that they could reach Mulder in time. He almost collided into the redheaded woman as she stopped in her tracks once she opened the door. "Hey!" he let out. Suddenly Scully gasped in surprise and called out the name 'William'. _Huh?_ He peered behind Scully's orange tinted mane, and he saw that Alex was standing in front of her. She was supporting a young boy who seemed ready to collapse in any second. Charlie was confused. _What now?_

"Charlie?" Alex called to him. "This boy has been asking for you. I don't know what this all means."

Scully still seemed like she had sprouted roots. She didn't budge. Charlie moved around her and looked at her face. Her expression was a combination of shock and awe. Charlie was worried. Something was off about her. He wasn't wrong. The FBI agent's legs suddenly let go, and Charlie managed to get hold of her seconds before she crashed to the ground.

He gently laid her on the ground and grabbed her wrist. Her pulse was racing and her face seemed strikingly pale, especially compared to the intense redness of her hair. She moaned, and tried to get up. "Hey… no, don't get up. You nearly fainted."

"I'm OK. I just hadn't had anything to eat all day," Scully explained, the weakness evident in her voice.

"Here, I have a snack in my bag," Alex proffered her handbag to Charlie, and then entered the closet. She closed the door behind her and proceeded inwards, all the while supporting the young boy. Finally, she gently eased him down to the ground. He was now lying on the closet floor alongside Scully.

Charlie realized this was turning into an absurd situation; one faint female FBI agent, one sickly looking teenager and by the wall, the ghost of a man, contorting in pain. Just Brilliant!

Alex also seemed to catch up on Charlie's thoughts. "This seems nice…"

Charlie thought he'd laugh if things were not so dire right now. "Yes. Very."

He assisted Scully and she managed to sit up and lean against the closet shelves. He gave her the snack Alex had offered and she nibbled at it, but not as eagerly as he'd expect from somebody in her state. "Feeling better?" he asked her and grabbed her wrist again. Her pulse was still rapid.

She gave him an attempt at a smile. "A bit." She looked over at the sprawled boy. "William. What's wrong with William?"

Alex was attending to him. "I don't know what's wrong. Nothing about his condition makes sense. It's like he's in intense pain, possibly in shock, but his vitals don't fit in with the visual symptoms. This means—"

Scully cut Alex short. "I know what it means. I'm also a doctor," she quickly explained.

Alex didn't flinch at Scully's response. "OK."

So now what? Charlie wondered. Mulder was still in terrible agony. The seizure he was probably in didn't seemeready to let go of him. If it proceeded any longer there was going to be severe brain damage, worse, he would probably die, and here they were, huddling in a closet, and doing nothing about it. Not that he or anybody else knew what do to.

"Charlie," it was the boy's faint voice that broke through the silence that had taken over the tiny closet space.

"Hey," Charlie approached him. He still had no idea how this boy was related to all of this and what he wanted of him. "You're William, I presume?"

The boy nodded.

"How can I help you?" he asked and as he looked deep into his face he realized that there was something familiar about him. He couldn't quite place it, though.

"I can help my father through you."

Charlie blinked. "You can … What?!"

"We don't have a lot of time," the boy pressed on. "I know you can see him."

Charlie didn't even know how to react to this. His previous experience with Kristine had made him suspicious of others who had his ability and yet, this somehow felt different.

"I don't really understand what you're talking about." Charlie looked over at Alex who shrugged back at him. He then looked over at Scully. The woman's eyes were welling up with tears. She wasn't looking at him, but at the boy. She seemed infatuated with him.

"My dad is being sent signals which his brain cannot cope with. The signals are not meant for him, but somehow he is receiving them. It's like a faulty communication system. It's like he needs to be 'rewired' for lack of a better term," the boy explained. " _I_ am the one who should be receiving these signals. _I_ am the one who can cope with them."

Charlie had no clue what the teen was talking about. "O... K…. nice… I guess. I still don't get how I fit in with all of this."

The boy stared deeply into Charlie's eyes. "You are the medium. I will use you to get to my father's mind."

At that Alex began to protest. "No! No Charlie! You have no idea what this might do to you."

Charlie turned to face Alex. "Listen to yourself. Do you _actually_ believe anything this boy is saying? Reach his father's mind through me? Hello?!"

"Charlie, I believe that you can see ghosts and talk them, and since that is possible, who's to say this isn't? And anyway, there's something special about this boy. I can feel it!"

"But you don't want me to do it, so does it really matter?"

Alex gave him a deploring look. "I almost lost you once and soon you will be having an operation. I'm scared enough as it is, but at least there's supposed to be a good outcome there, but this? I have no idea what this could do to you. What if you will end up in a coma again, or even worse? Charlie, I just can't…" she trailed off as tears caused her to choke on her words.

"Please Charlie," the boy pleaded. "There isn't much time left."

Charlie Harris was torn. What was he going to do?


	11. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Reference: XF ("Christmas Carol", "Emily", "Beyond the Sea", "The Blessing Way", "William")_

* * *

Scully felt her heart pounding vigorously. She kept gnawing at the snack she was given, but her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't take her eyes off of William. She still couldn't believe he was here. She so wished Mulder could see him now.

She had to get closer to him. She wanted to touch him; she wanted to smell him and to hug him. She felt her heart flutter at the thought.

Despite still feeling extremely weak, she dragged herself closer to him and leaned forward so she could look into his face.

He had grown up to be a handsome young man. He had Mulder's jaw and Mulder's lips. He got his cheekbones from her. His eyes had her eye shape but their color was like Mulder's, beautiful hazel.

 _My beautiful boy,_ she thought.

She felt a tear travel along her cheek and then dangle off and drop. It landed on William's cheek. The boy looked up at her.

 _Don't be sad, mom._

His lips didn't move, yet she could hear his voice. He was in her mind. He was telepathic.

 _William, I'm so sorry I gave you away,_ she thought back at him.

 _I know. You had to._

 _I won't let you go this time. Stay with me. With us._

She saw his face contort. She felt herself matching his expression.

 _No,_ she thought.

 _Mom, I can't stay. It's not safe._

She couldn't believe this was happening. He was here, she could touch him, she could hold him, she dared not for fear she would never be able to let go.

 _It's OK mom. You can touch me._

 _No,_ she thought back _. I can't. If I touch you then it will be real. If you won't stay with me, I'd rather this be just like all my other dreams of you._ Tears were streaming along her cheeks. She couldn't hold them in anymore.

She felt somebody touch her. She turned around. It was Charlie Harris.

"He will be OK," he promised her.

But she knew that even if William will be OK, she wouldn't be.

"Mom, please take my hand," William spoke out loud.

Scully could hear his voice. He was calling her 'Mom'. It was hard to force herself to believe that this was just another dream. She wanted to touch him so badly.

He smiled at her. It was a weak smile, but it was there. She couldn't help herself, she smiled back and hesitantly felt for his hand. As their fingers touched, Scully felt both pain and happiness at the same time. It was overwhelming. She gasped with shock from the immense feelings she was experiencing.

 _William, my child._

Her mind registered that she couldn't believe this was happening. She also couldn't believe this would only be a fleeting moment of happiness and that soon he would be gone, and she would be left with that same hole she had in her heart. That hole that grew deeper as she lost her dearest. She knew when William was born that he had closed that hole. That she was able to look past the deaths of Emily, Melissa and her Dad's. And when she had to give him up, even though she knew he wasn't dead, it felt like her heart didn't only have a hole in it; it felt like it was torn right out of her.

She coped, but her loss was always there in the background. Now she felt her heart beating. She felt alive. She didn't want it to stop.

"Mom, I know you don't want me to go, but I have to. I promise it won't be forever."

She sniveled. She tried to speak but she choked on her tears.

"Mom, I need to help Dad. We are almost out of time."

Scully knew he was right. They had to help Mulder, or she'd not only lose William, but she'd also lose the last person who kept her sane. She smiled inwardly at that. She needed Mulder's craziness to keep her on track. Ironic.

She inhaled and shook herself. She felt her hands trembling as she let go of William. She was going into shock. She knew it. She had to make sure Mulder was safe before she fainted. As she began to sag, she could feel somebody grab her from behind.

"I got you," Charlie Harris was telling her.

"Help… Mulder…" she whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Reference: XF Mythology and SH main story arc_

* * *

"Alex!" Charlie called frantically. "I need your help!"

Alex hopped over by his side. "She's in shock," she said as she looked at Scully.

"I know. I just want you to keep an eye over her while I—"

"—while you do what?!" Alex was incredulous.

He stared deep into her eyes. _C'mon Alex…_

"No!"

"A man will die, Alex. I can't let this happen."

"But what if you'd die?!"

He couldn't look her in the eye. She had to understand. She had to.

"Charlie, please," Alex begged.

"I _can't_ let him die. I won't be able to live with myself."

"But I won't be able to live with myself if I let _you_ die," Alex almost cried.

He looked deep into her eyes. He could see the glistening tears forming in their corners. He rubbed his temples, brushed his hand through his hair. If he didn't do this, he knew he would regret it. "I won't die, then," he whispered.

"You don't know that!"

"Alex, I won't die."

She looked away from his face. "So help me God Charlie Harris! I don't think I can take any more of this!"

"Take care of Scully, please," he asked her and moved over to William. "Promise me I will get back to her," he asked the boy.

"I can't," the boy told him. "I'm sorry."

He grimaced. _Fuck!_

He heaved a deep breath, and then let it out. He felt the tension building within his body. He felt his muscles stiffen and he tried in vain to relax himself. He couldn't. "OK, then. Let's just get this over with."

He hovered over the boy who was still lying on the ground. "What do you want me to do?"

"Help me up," the boy ordered him.

He supported the boy and helped him move to a sitting position. "What now?"

"Hold me hands," the boy continued his guidance.

"Is this some sort of Vulcan mind meld?" Charlie wondered out loud.

His light remark didn't have the desired effect on the boy, whose face remained passive.

"Yup, definitely a Vulcan mind meld," Charlie mumbled under his breath as he grabbed the boys hands.

Aside from the loud pounding of his heart beat, Charlie didn't experience anything. _Well, that's that,_ he thought.

He stared at William's serene face. The boy had closed his eyes. Charlie wondered if doing so would help the process. As he kept on staring at the boy's delicate features, he thought he could hear a sound. It was like the sound of a squeaky wheel turning.

 _Weird_.

He turned around expecting to see Alex hovering about Scully, but what he saw took him by surprise. He did see Scully, but she was a lot younger. Her hair was different, even redder than her current hair color. It was shorter and straighter. She was looking down at… him. At least he thought it was him. Then he realized the source of the squeaky sounds was a star mobile. The kind one hung over a baby's crib. Scully was staring at the mobile. She appeared to be concerned. The mobile was turning. On its own. She suddenly moved her hand and grabbed the mobile. It stopped. He could hear her taking in a tiny breath. She then let go of the mobile and it began turning again. She was now looking at him. Her face was a mixture of fear and worry.

Suddenly instead of Scully he now saw a strange piece of metal. It was hovering above him, turning around. He could see it had strange scripture written on it.

Then things started moving real fast. He was in a car. Every second he was in different car, and there were different people with him. An older woman with Scully's eyes cooing at him, another young lady, brown hair and brown eyes, then three men; A short balding man with glasses, a taller guy with long blond bangs wearing a pair of extremely nerdy glasses and a bearded guy with a suit, then another lady, with harsh features. She was carrying… him.

Then he was in something he couldn't recognize. It was a strange metallic structure. There were many strange people around him. He felt stressed. Then the people were gone, he could see fire and then Scully. She was crying.

Then a strange deformed man. And he suddenly felt pain. Scully again. Crying. She cried so much.

Then he was in a different house with a couple. They seemed very nice. He was in a kinder garden. He was playing with kids, and then he was in school. They were studying. A pretty girl with braces was smiling at him. He was in a football field. He was looking down at his knee. It was badly bruised. As he looked down at it, he saw the bruise was disappearing on its own.

Lockers, he was hearing people's thoughts. The girl he thought cared for him, didn't really. She was using him.

Home. Unable to talk to his parents. He could hear their thoughts as well. What was happening to him?

He felt sudden pain. He had to go. He was on a bus. He was crossing the border. He saw Hope Zion's entrance.

Hope Zion was suddenly gone. Now he was in a different home. He was playing a game of Stratego with a girl about eight years of age. Suddenly the entire room was lit up and he saw the girl being lifted into the air and hovering outside the window, all the while he felt paralyzed. The light was gone. Now he was watching two people, a man and a woman, arguing, then he saw many men in suits coming and going. There was one who came quite often. He stood out as he was always smoking a cigarette.

He then realized he was in college, in an auditorium. Then it was a different auditorium. Now all the students wore uniforms. FBI academy uniforms. Then he saw the FBI building in Washington D.C. He was walking into it, passing through the main entrance scanner. He was on a task force, chasing somebody. He was receiving an award, and then another and another.

Now he was again with the odd three men he saw before. They were sitting in a den of some sorts, the sofa was riddled with porn mags and the coffee table filled with crumbs and partially nibbled cheese stakes.

Then he was in a dark office with no windows. The walls were covered with photos, newspaper cuttings and a poster with a UFO on it. Then a very young Scully entered the door. He was arguing with her. She was so beautiful. He knew she was sent to spy on him but he couldn't take his eyes off of her and she was smart and he felt she was just the right person he could confide in.

Things were moving fast. Scully screaming. Scully in a … coma. Flying Saucers! He was cold. Some hospital. Worried looking Scully. Scully shooting him. A desert. Indians. Weird looking disfigured bodies. Looking up and seeing a black substance being poured on to him. Feeling the liquid seeping into his eyes, feeling it crawling inside his veins. He was worried. Scully was in hospital. She was very sick. She is cured. Bees. Lots of bees. Almost kissing Scully. Snow. He is sick. There's this man with the cigarettes again. He says he's his father. He's on board an alien ship. Pain. Agony. Somebody is drilling into him. He's in a dark confined space. Scully. Worried. There's another FBI agent. A man. Southern accent. Blue eyes. Scully is pregnant. He feels confused. Worried. Men who don't die even as people shoot them. Scully gives birth. He is a father.

He's going away. Scully is crying. William is crying.

Now he's hiding. He's received new information. He's in jail. He's with Scully in a motel.

He is talking to dead people. He is living with Scully in the woods. Scully is practicing medicine again. They are having sex. Lots of sex. But she is always worried.

They are in the snow. A man is raising an ax right above him. They are back in their home. Scully is moving out.

Back at the bureau building. Chasing monsters.

Road. Headache. Pain.

He's in car. He's with his parents. There's a loud crashing noise. No. He's in a cab with Alex. He's on the ground. Alex is hovering above him with Scully's worried eyes. He can see himself lying in a bed hooked up to life support. He is talking with the Great Randel. He sees a worried Alex.

He's learning to walk. He can talk to the dead. He's operating on Luke. Luke is dead. Alex is going to die. He's begging Dawn to listen to him. Alex is OK. They have broken up. Joel is dead. Alex gives birth.

Maggie almost dies. Kristine is in a coma.

He is walking into the sea. Alex and Luke are waving at him.

Suddenly he sees William's face. The boy is talking but he can hear a strange metallic voice emanating from him and resonating in his head.

The voice is in a strange language and yet he understands the message.

"We are here. Stand by for your orders."

Then he feels as if somebody had kicked him in the head. There's a major popping sound and then nothing.


	13. Chapter 13

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

* * *

"William…" Scully moaned faintly.

Alex forced herself to move her gaze from Charlie, who had just grabbed William's hands, towards William's mother who was barely holding her own. "They'll be alright," she told her and she realized she was also trying to force _herself_ to believe it. Just as she finished comforting the redheaded woman, she heard Charlie gasp. She abruptly switched her gaze towards him as he toppled on William.

"Charlie!" she screamed and leapt over to his side.

"Fuck!" she cursed. "Charlie…"

He was sprawled on top of the young boy. She palpated his neck and found his pulse. It was weak but it was there. He was heavy, especially being that he was pure dead weight in his condition. She tugged at his body and grunted aloud as she tried to turn him over as well as off the boy whose condition she still didn't know.

She was desperate and it gave her strength she didn't know she had. She took a deep breath and with the loudest of grunts, she managed to pull Charlie off of the boy, she barely managed to block his fall as momentum pulled his body to the ground, but at the very last second she slowed his progression and he landed safely on her lap. Once there, she eased him slowly to the ground.

She rested her cheek by his mouth and she could feel his shallow breathing on it. She let out a sigh of relief. He was out cold, but he was breathing. Still not out of the woods yet, but it was something.

"William…" It was Scully.

Alex felt for the boy's pulse. _Dammit!_ No pulse. It had been only seconds. She hoped she could save him. She moved around Charlie's sprawled form and crouched beside the boy. His face was the color of wax. She had no time to waste. She breathed two swift breaths into his mouth and then began the tedious process of pressing her palms against his chest. She quickly got into rhythm, but the boy needed to be jump started if he was going to come back. If she was doing compressions, there was no way she would be able to get any help.

"Hey," she called over to Scully. She couldn't recall the woman's name.

Despite being in a bad state herself, the woman realized she was her son's only hope.

"It's Dana," she told her. "I'll get help…" she said.

Alex could hear how just plain talking was putting a great strain on her, but she also knew that this woman was a mother, and as a mother herself she knew she would die first, before she'd let anything happen to Luke. This other woman was no different in that respect.

Alex continued doing CPR. Her back was aching but she didn't have the luxury of stopping. She was the only thing keeping this kid from a sure death. As she continued with the compressions, she saw Dana dragging herself across the closet floor, and then barely pushing herself to a standing position as she used the door handle as a lever. She managed to open the door and call for help. Alex then heard a thud as the woman collapsed to the ground, and then the sound of people yelling and rushing to help her.

She just hoped that it was not all in vain.


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

* * *

Scully rubbed her eyes. There was something bugging her with her left hand. Something was stuck to her palm and she couldn't bend her wrist properly, nor was she able to shake the damn thing off.

"Dammit!" She spat out, but the sound of her voice and the feeling in her mouth made her cringe. _Ugh!_ Her mouth felt like sand paper. She tried to turn to her left, but whatever was snagged on her right palm was giving her grief as it kept her from fully turning. She massaged her temples with her left hand and then gradually opened her eyes.

 _Oh my God! I'm in a hospital bed,_ she realized. _What the hell happened now?_! She rubbed her forehead, trying to make sense of things.

Mulder was sick. William was—"Oh my God! William!" Everything was coming back to her now.

"Hey, hey…."

"Mulder?" She looked over to her left. There was another bed beside her and Mulder was in it. He looked haggard and somewhat ridiculous with the EEG cap of electrodes and wires dangling from his head, but he was alert and very much alive. "Mulder!"

"I'm very glad to see you, too, Scully," he smiled.

There was a knock on the door. Both Scully and Mulder shot out a 'come in', to whomever was on the other side.

In came the woman Scully only knew as Alex. Scully also knew that this Alex was Dr. Harris' girl and that she was also a doctor. She was followed by the neurologist whose name Scully couldn't recall.

"Hey," the dark haired woman smiled at her, "You're up."

Scully smiled back. She couldn't help but notice the dark circles around Alex's eyes and her pale complexion. She sure could identify with them. _Poor woman._ She had guilty pangs.

"How's Charlie?" Scully asked.

She quickly noted the black cloud that hovered over the younger woman's face as Charlie's name was mentioned.

"What?" Scully pushed. "Is he OK?"

"Let's talk about you, first," Alex deflected her question.

Not a good sign, Scully noted.

When Scully didn't respond, Alex took it as a sign to continue. "Basically you had low blood sugar, you were dehydrated and combined with the stress of yesterday's ordeal, your body chose to shut itself down and take a bit of a break. We gave you fluids and some nutrients, and if you can stomach the hospital gourmet then I believe you can be discharged."

Scully smiled. She was the simple case. "What about Mulder?"

To that the other doctor responded. "I will answer that."

"Who are you?" Mulder wondered aloud. "Actually, who are the both of you?" he said and gestured with his hand at Alex and the second doc.

"Right… I totally forgot that you were out of it while we were having that crazy party," Alex grinned. "OK, my name is Dr. Alex Reid and I'm a general surgeon here at Hope Zion Hospital. My colleague is Dr. Shahir Hamza, Chief of Neurosurgery. He is your primary physician, Mr. Mulder," she gestured back at him.

"So how am I?" Mulder demanded.

Scully noted how Dr. Hamza got himself ready to respond to Mulder. He was somewhat eccentric, but in a cute way. His chest puffed up as if he was going to perform in a Shakespearean play, and then he opened his mouth.

"You are doing well. In fact, you are doing extremely well. It is highly irregular. By all accounts you should be having some form of brain deficit due to prolonged seizure activity, but so far we have noted nothing out of the ordinary, aside from your recovery, that is."

Scully noticed a mischievous grin forming on Mulder's face as he followed the neurosurgeon's explanations. He then looked at her and she couldn't help but smile. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged at her. He looked absolutely ridiculous with the alien looking EEG cap combined with his expression. Scully had to fight hard not to explode into silly gags.

Mulder turned back to face the doctors. "When can I get the swimming cap off?"

Dr. Hamza's demeanor was one of utter confusion. "What swimming cap?"

Alex Reid intervened. "He wants to know when you can disconnect him from the EEG monitors."

"Oh, so why didn't he say that?" Hamza appeared clueless.

Mulder stared upwards and sighed.

Scully held herself. She knew it wouldn't be appropriate if she completely lost control and burst out in laughter.

"So?" Mulder prodded. "Can I take it off?"

"Not yet," Hamza answered. "If there are no changes by noon, then I'll unhook you."

Mulder sighed. "I guess I won't be saying good bye to those bed pans, then."

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Look on the bright side; at least you're not peeing through a tube right now."

Mulder chuffed at that, and slumped back into his pillow.

"Can you take _my_ IV out now? I really want to go see William." Scully said as she tugged at her tubing. She could, of course, take it out on her own, but out of pure respect for the other doctors and her adherence to rules, she chose otherwise.

"I can take it out for you," Alex said, "But I think I should tell you about William first."

Scully was afraid to ask about his condition and she knew Alex had been stalling up until now. She was very appreciative of this. She knew the tone Alex was using was the kind doctors saved for the telling of bad news. She wasn't sure if she was ready to hear what Alex had to say.


	15. Chapter 15

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Reference: SH (Season 1, End of Season 4)_

* * *

Charlie Harris groaned. He had an elephant of a headache. The headache was so overbearing that it woke him up in the middle of his dream.

It was one of the more weird dreams he'd had (*). He was running through the hospital and never reaching his destination. It was like people kept switching the entrances to rooms. Every time he thought he was entering a room he knew, he ended up some place else. His heart was still beating fast as a result of his dream and he could feel each beat resonating within his temples. This headache was out of this world!

"Oh God!" Why wouldn't it stop?

"I'm sorry about this."

 _Huh?_ There was somebody with him. He realized he would have to open his eyes. He didn't really want to do so. He was tired and achy and he wanted to be left alone.

"At least you didn't die."

That voice again. He knew that voice. Whose was it?

"I will have to go soon. I was hoping you could pass on a message to my parents."

He heaved in a deep breath. He realized he had no choice but to open his eyes and see who was talking to him.

"Hey…" Charlie called out to the disembodied voice. "Can you do me a favor?"

"It depends."

 _Huh?_ "Can you make sure the lights are off before I open my eyes?"

"You're lucky. The lights are already turned off. I wouldn't have been able to help you, though. I can't really touch anything."

 _What the-?!_ The voice's last response caused him to abruptly open his eyes. At least the room was dim. Some semblance of light perfused through the curtains, but it wasn't unbearable.

He was in a hospital bed once again. He was trying to piece things together. Had he had his operation already? So strange that he couldn't remember anything about going into the operation. _Shit!_ Maybe he'd lost his memory as a result! _Oh God!_

 _Wait a minute._ His arms shot up swiftly and he touched his scalp. No bandages. In fact, his hair was still intact, aside from the obvious scarring left from his previous injury and operation. _Strange_.

So why was he hospitalized then?

His head kept pounding ever so vigorously, making it even harder to think straight. Could this headache be the reason?

"Hi Charlie." It was the voice from a moment ago.

Charlie hefted himself to a semi-sitting position and then peered to the side of his bed in search of the person who was talking to him. He managed to make up the shape of a body lurking amongst the shadows. It was too dark for him to make out the person's facial features, though.

"Who's there?"

The person stepped closer. It was William.

He felt a sudden rush of memories flashing through his mind. _Oh my God!_ The pounding in his head was tremendous. It engulfed him and coursed through him. He felt himself slipping away. Everything went dark.

* * *

Alex felt as if her feet were too slow as she rushed through the corridors. She burst through the room's doors and barely braced herself from crashing into Shahir's back. "How is he?!"

Shahir looked behind him. "He had a short period during which he was conscious but he went back under before I was able to get to his room. The nurses said he was talking to himself."

 _Damn you Charlie Harris! Damn you!_

She was beside herself. Charlie was in a coma again. Shahir had hooked him up to an EEG monitor and had noted that Charlie's brain pattern resembled that of another patient of his. Alex knew that he meant Mulder. It was as if Charlie had taken Mulder's illness from him and had it transferred to himself.

She was pissed at herself for allowing him to try and help Mulder. She was also pissed at Charlie for convincing her.

She didn't want to once again hope for his recovery, she didn't want to wonder if he will get back to her, she didn't want to be that strong significant other who stood by her beloved sick one. No! She wanted him to be OK. Nothing else. She was upset and tired and hopeless.

"Shahir… I don't think I can go through this again…" she sobbed.

Her friend looked at her with doleful eyes. He then pulled her towards him and embraced her. She let herself burrow into him. He caressed her gently.

"He will be OK, Alex," Shahir told her, but she could hear the tremble in his voice and she knew that even he wasn't feeling too confident right now.

* * *

Charlie watched Alex and Shahir embracing and sighed. So here he was once again showing off his ghostly skills. How did he get into this mess? _Why_ did he get into it?

Seeing Alex so distraught was tearing at him. He had to get back and this time it had to be a quick recovery. He was adamant to make it to his scheduled surgery as planned.

"OK, Nice Charlie that you have such clear demands. The question is; how are you going to make things happen?" Yes, he was once again talking to himself out loud. The perks of ghost life, he mused.

"I can help you," he heard somebody saying.

He turned around swiftly. It was William.

Charlie swallowed hard. "I don't know about that…"

"What have you got to lose?"

"Errm… let's see now, my life possibly?" he uttered bitterly.

"Well, if you don't want my help then I just came to say good bye. Please tell my mom and dad that I love them and not to worry about me." The boy turned around to go.

"NO!" He yelled after him. "I'm sorry. I'm just not having the greatest of days."

The boy turned to face him.

Charlie hated begging, but he looked back at Alex who was now huddled beside his limp form and sniveling into his nape. His heart broke. "I have to get back to her," he pleaded.

* * *

 _*Author's note*_  
 _I used to work at a hospital between 1994 and 1999. I hadn't thought much about the place once I'd left. In 2007 while pregnant with my second child, I had a weird dream where I was trying my darnest to reach the clinic in the hospital where I once worked. I never made it. Each time I believed I had reached the right place, I ended up some place else. I remember waking up with a weird feeling._  
 _Then, a few hours later I had learnt that the clinic leader, for whom I had worked, was murdered. He was shot at point blank while driving home in the middle of the night, around the time I had my dream._  
 _I'm usually a skeptic but I still get goosebumps thinking about that day and that dream._  
 _So, although a similar scene was depicted during the SH season final, This was something I had dreamed of about 9 years earlier..._


	16. Chapter 16

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Reference: XF ("The Truth", "Movie: I Want to believe" "William")_

* * *

William looked so peaceful. If Scully didn't know the any better, she could have imagined her son was fast asleep. She followed the rise and fall of his rib cage, listening intently for any telltale signs of any likely infection or that he was possibly waking up. There was nothing out of the ordinary. He kept to a steady rhythm.

She sighed.

Despite telling her that he won't be staying with them, William was still there. He was in a coma, but he was here. With her. She could still touch him and feel him. There was hope in her heart. It was a scary feeling for her. Hope. She constantly hoped to reunite with William someday but she also tried to dull that feeling as she knew it would consume her.

She wouldn't be able to function if she let herself wonder constantly about him. How he was. Where he was. The first year after she had given him away she couldn't stop thinking about him. She was a wreck. It was only thanks to Mulder being back and him needing so much care himself, that she was able to silence her constant thoughts surrounding her lost child.

But that was during the day time.

She found herself crying into her pillow at night. Mulder would be lying by her side, thrashing as a nightmare took him over and she would sob silently. William was lost, Mulder's soul was in pain and even though he was near her, she felt so lonely.

The years went by. She found a position as a doctor and immediately she knew she had to find a way to soothe her conscience and find it she did. Each child under her care was like her William. Instead of the child she lost, she now had many children to take care of. She'd stay at work for hours with no end. Mulder had begun to complain that he hardly ever saw her. She couldn't help herself. There was no way she was going to let go of any other child.

The loss of one of her sick kids would send her back to her pillow and the night sobbing. Each setback only made her conviction stronger. Sometimes the other doctors grew weary of her tenaciousness. She couldn't care less. Nothing else mattered.

Now William, her own flesh and blood, was sick and she swore she would do anything in her power to nurse him back to health and back to her lap. God help anybody or anything that would get in her way.

The door behind her made a squeaking sound. She turned around to see who had come in.

It was Mulder on a wheelchair still clad in hospital jammies. Alex Reid was pushing his chair from behind.

"Hey," he called out to her. It was almost a whisper. "Any change?"

She shook her head.

He was now right beside her. She felt his hand touching hers, and then grabbing hold of it. It felt warm and soft. She grabbed his palm with her other hand and fondled it. She slowly felt herself moving her focus back from Mulder to William while she kept rubbing Mulder's hand absentmindedly.

One had to give Mulder's patience due credit. He stayed by her and didn't try to retrieve his hand while she remained in her distant state. After a while she noticed she was hogging his hand. "Sorry, Mulder," she said as she let go. She then realized Alex was still with them. She turned around to greet her and couldn't ignore the red puffiness surrounding Alex's eyes. She felt a twinge in her heart.

"Charlie's still in a coma," Mulder told her.

Scully sighed. Just a few days ago things were looking so bright. They were back together working X-File cases; she had dared take Mulder on a vacation even. She was feeling OK. Not great, but definitely OK. Now, though… she didn't really know how she felt. It was a mixture of happiness and sadness and anger and disappointment and hope. In other words, she was a mess.

She felt like somebody had targeted her and the arrow that was meant for her heart said something like _'Make sure she is never at peace'_. It was either that Mulder was in danger, or she was, or some family member of theirs, or a close friend, or just a stranger who happened across them and suffered the consequences.

She was a religious woman. She wanted to believe God had his reasons, but lately she had given up on confessions because she was so angry at God, she felt that there was no way she would be absolved, and right now she wasn't sure she even wanted it.

The irony was that she had intended to go to a confession once they had returned from their trip. She was actually beginning to think that she was up to it. Not anymore. She didn't feel she could be absolved for causing Alex's suffering or for having another person save her loved one's life at the cost of his own.

She had no words for Alex. There was truly nothing comforting to say in this situation and she wasn't going to chuck up clichés because she would kick somebody who'd do this to her right now. She'd rather people shut up than try to console her.

"I can't believe he's here, Scully," Mulder told her.

"Yeah…"

He pushed himself closer to the comatose boy's bed and reached for his hand. He didn't say anything but Scully could hear his heavy breathing. She knew Mulder was ecstatic. She wanted to tell him that he spoke to her. She wanted to tell him _how_ he spoke to her, but Alex was in the room and there was just so much Scully was willing to say in front of her. True, Alex was privy to Charlie's abilities, Scully surmised as much, but was Alex ready to open herself to even more extreme possibilities? Scully wasn't sure, and with Charlie being in a coma, Scully knew Alex wasn't currently up to it.

She will tell Mulder later, when they were alone.

There was a buzzing sound. Scully didn't turn around but she could hear rustling from behind her. Then she heard Alex's shocked cry. "Charlie!"

This made both her and Mulder turn. Alex was already by the bedroom door by then.

"I'm sorry," Alex apologized, "I have to go."


	17. Chapter 17

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Reference: XF ("The Truth", "Jump the Shark")_

* * *

"Do you think…?" Mulder wasn't able to finish his sentence. If Dr. Harris was dead, it would be because of him, and he would be just another name in a very long list of people who had died because of him. He'd spoken to too many dead people in the passing years and he was fed up with it.

Scully knew that he was having hallucinations, but she kept quiet about it, letting him deal with his issues in his own way. As time went by and more years came between them and the events that led to his insanity, slowly his meetings with the ghosts of his past became further apart. At some point they just stopped. He couldn't recall when was the last time he spoke with a ghost or who that person was. He just got better.

Now he was scared he'd slip back into the rabbit's hole. He had to know.

"Scully," he called out to her.

She didn't respond. He looked at her. Scully was staring intently at William, as if she was willing him to wake up with her piercing gaze. He had to grab her attention. He needed her help. He was still too weak from the intense seizures; even standing made him dizzy.

"Scully," he spoke to her again, this time backing up his words with a gentle tap on her hand.

"What?!" she snapped at him.

He was almost taken aback by her adverse reaction. He mustered his best 'I need you' voice. "I have to find out if Charlie is alright—"

"Mulder…" she winged.

"I just need your help getting to his room. Just leave me there and you can get back to William's bed. Please. I can't get there on my own."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Scully? Please?" He'd get down on his knees if he could.

She got up with a huff, grabbed the wheelchair handles and began pushing him. He could feel her vehemence as she pushed him dispasionately.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

She didn't respond.

* * *

They got a bit muddled, but after a few queries they managed to find Charlie's room. Mulder was worried that Scully would punch the next stranger they asked help of. He did all the questioning while she did all the brooding.

"Scully, slow down. I think this is the room."

She just about passed it; then she broke her stride. He barely held on as she unexpectedly pulled back and shoved him in the opposite direction. The swiftness of the move made him feel dizzy. He felt like he was about to throw up. The woman was crazy!

"Scully! Stop!"

She ignored his pleas and thrust him forward through Charlie's room door. He barely managed to push the door open. He felt awfully sick now.

"OK Mulder?" she uttered with chilling resent.

"Not really…" he just about moaned. _Thank you Scully for making me feel like shit, both physically and mentally._ "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Well, good thing you're in a hospital," she shot back at him.

"What's going on?"

Mulder looked up. It was Dr. Hamza.

He almost forgot his original reason for getting there in the first place.

"I just wanted to find out how Charlie was."

"You're not a relative. You will have to get out," Hamza responded.

"Great, Mulder!" Scully sounded exasperated. "Let's go!"

"Err, can you wait just a second?" An unexpected voice shot out from within the room.

Mulder noted Scully's eyes widen with surprise as he felt himself responding in the same demeanor.

"You're awake?" Scully's tone had changed completely.

"Errr, Yes," Charlie Harris said in his precise way of saying things.

"Oh my God!" Scully had turned around completely.

"OK, now you know that he's awake. Now leave." Dr. Hamza's tactless manners got the better of him.

"Shahir, c'mon, play nice."

"Charlie, you need your rest." Hamza disapproved.

"Give me just a couple of minutes, OK?"

Mulder truly liked this guy. It wasn't only that he saved his life or the fact that he was a special person with a special ability. If they had lived nearby, he could have seen himself having a guys' night out with him, or a guys' night in. It made him feel sad all of a sudden. Ever since the Lone Gunman had been killed, he didn't have any friends to enjoy their company. Being with Scully was great at times, but a guy couldn't be a guy without his buddies. He missed them. He didn't know if they could ever be replaced with new friends. He wasn't sure he'd be able to put his trust in new friends. Not after all he'd gone through.

He had to say something to Charlie. Up until now he'd only known him as a ghost. He looked back at Scully. She was still pissed at him, but she understood his wishes. She drove his chair forward.

Mulder looked at Alex Reid sitting on Charlie's bedside and clutching his hand. She was Charlie's Scully. She was his touchstone. It was a strange feeling but he imagined himself going out with Scully together with Charlie and Alex. He could imagine the crazy conversation that would ensue. The doctors would talk shop and then they'd jump to X-Files shop and talk about paranormal and ghosts and El Chupacabra. It could actually work.

He shook his head. It sounded too normal to be true.

"What?" Charlie asked.

Mulder smiled. "Nothing. Just some silly thoughts."

"Right," Charlie sounded unsure.

"Anyway," Mulder continued, "I just wanted to say thank you."

"OK." Charlie said quietly and looked sideways at Shahir.

Mulder caught on. It wasn't something Charlie spoke about with too many people.

"Shahir," That was Alex, "Can I speak with you outside?" She had caught on as well.

"Why?" Shahir sounded genuinely upset.

"I need to speak with you in private."

Dr. Hamza wasn't too eager, but he followed Alex out of the room. Mulder felt himself release a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Charlie didn't waste any time. "I have a message for the both of you. William sends his love and that you shouldn't worry about him."

Mulder's heart missed a beat.

From behind Scully let out a cry. "NO!"

Mulder turned around in time to see the bedroom door close behind her.


	18. Chapter 18

_Disclaimer: Don't own XF or SH._

 _Episode Reference: XF ("Sixth Extinction I+II")_

* * *

Mulder followed Scully's gaze. She was staring out of the hotel room window. He knew she was still hopeful. He wished she wasn't. Well, not exactly. He just wished things were back to how they were before.

He hefted his overnight bag over his shoulder and grabbed Scully's trolley and headed for the door. "Scully?"

"Hmm?" she muttered.

"You coming?"

He winced at her audible sigh. He could feel the dejection emanating from her. He could hear it in her walking. There was something very heavy in her step. The cheerfulness with which she had left for this trip was gone. It was a terrible setback for her. For him, too, but he tried to hold himself. Scully didn't need him falling apart now. She was barely holding her own. Possibly even not holding.

They headed down to the hotel lobby. He dared not break the dreary silence that surrounded them. He didn't look at her and he knew she wasn't looking at him. He stared at the lift's button panel as he recalled the events of that day.

He was still confined to a wheelchair. Scully left him at Charlie's room. She had rushed back to William but he was gone. There was nothing in the surveillance cameras. Nobody could account for his whereabouts. Scully yelled and screamed and ordered the entire hospital to find her son. They almost threw her out of the hospital, and at some point they had to sedate her. She was too overwrought at that stage to think clearly. Nobody could talk sense into her. The psych resident tried to talk to her but she threw him out of the room. In the end Mulder came in and hopped onto the bed with her and cuddled with her and she cried until she couldn't anymore and all that was left were trembling fits as she slowly got it out of her system. It was only then that she was able to talk to him.

"He's gone," she said. She didn't cry by then. It was just a fact that she had to say out loud.

"I know," he told her.

They both knew that no amount of searching for William at the hospital or its nearby surroundings would help. This was beyond explanation. Even though Scully knew he had to go, she was having a hard time coming to terms with finding her son only to lose him again. Mulder knew she was strong. He knew she will cope, but she had to go through the motions first.

He quickly took care of the checkout process and they both headed to their rental. He got into the driver's seat and Scully didn't object. The ride to the hospital continued in silence. Mulder was scared to think of Scully's reaction once they'd arrived there. It had been four days since he was released and six days since William's disappearance. He didn't have the courage to ask Scully to wait for him at the hotel until he finished with his checkup.

Now that they were at the parking lot entrance, he had no choice but to address the issue of the big elephant in the car.

"You want to wait for me outside?"

"No," he could hear her tremble as she answered. "It's OK. I'll come in with you."

He didn't want to show her his relief, but he was glad this was her response. She had to deal with it. She tended to close up. She always did, but she did find her way around things. This was something he was always so impressed by. With him it was always so different. He was open about his problems, but it wasn't easy for him to get over things.

He wanted to grab her hand but he knew better than that. It took him time to understand that she resented these gestures. They made him feel better, but somehow they did the opposite for Scully, so he kept himself from being too overly warm and protective. He made sure didn't notice he was looking to see that she was OK. He got very good at 'stealth Scully watch'. On the other hand, she was never discreet about her worry for him but he didn't mind it as much as she did. He actually liked it that she cared so much for him, especially as he came from a family with which, compared with, the arctic was considered warmer.

It was their last day in Canada. Skinner was expecting them in the office the day after tomorrow and they still had a long drive ahead of them. The local police had their details and the chief promised to keep them updated regarding the search for their son. He was surprised, to say the least, when they told him they weren't staying. They couldn't explain to him about William's special circumstances, so they just said that duty called, and that they would be back pretty soon.

Now all that was left was Mulder's final checkup with Dr. Hamza. Mulder was also hoping to catch a few words with Charlie before they left. He never really got to talk to him once hell blew over.

As he began striding towards the hospital entrance, he noticed Scully slowing her pace. He looked back at her.

"I'm fine, Mulder."

Dammit Scully. He'd thought they'd passed that phase.

"I just need a moment."

"OK," he controlled himself so he wouldn't sigh.

They stood there in silence. He could feel the cold breeze furrowing his hair as he waited for Scully to collect herself. She stood maybe two steps behind him. He forced himself not to look at her. She needed this tiny feeling of privacy. He knew that. If she needed his support, she would let him know, but right now his support was to give her some space.

Even though he didn't look at her, he listened intently. He was paying close attention to her since the moment William disappeared again. First it was obvious she had gone over the deep end. It was strange but when she was screaming like a banshee at the hospital staff, he actually felt better. It was when she went silent that he became worried.

 _C'mon, Scully,_ he prodded her in his mind. _You can do it. C'mon._

He listened harder. Was she crying? No. Nothing. The breeze prevented him from hearing her breathing. He wanted to turn around. If she didn't make a sound in the next minute, he was going to check on her, he made up his mind.

Then he heard her footsteps. This time he did let out a sigh of relief. She was literally killing him with silence.

She reached up to him and didn't say a word. He followed her step and they headed into the hospital together. They put on that brave façade they always did, and pushed on. Mulder suddenly felt extremely weary. _Don't go there,_ he warned himself. He couldn't go there. Not now.

The ever organized Scully quickly got the details of Dr. Hamza's office and they headed towards the elevator to catch a ride to the sixth floor.

As they approached the elevator, Mulder recognized a familiar face.

"Hey," Charlie Harris called out, as they got near.

Mulder was glad they had run into him. He needed to talk with him before they left. "Hi," he responded. He noticed Scully didn't say anything. He sneaked a glance at her, she addressed Charlie with a slight nod, but her face remained somber. He sighed.

"In for a checkup?" Charlie continued as they entered the elevator.

"Yeah. Dr. Hamza wants to make sure all my screws are intact," Mulder said with a slight chuckle and once again sneaked a peek at his partner, hoping for some appropriate response. Nothing. Her face was a graveyard. He resisted the urge to let out yet another sigh.

"I'm on my way there myself. Shahir's supposed to tinker with my hard drive today."

"Oh! Today's the operation?"

"Yup!"

"So no more…" Mulder hinted with his eyes.

Charlie caught on. "Hallucinations?"

Mulder nodded.

"Possibly," Charlie answered but he sounded unsure.

Scully remained impassive all through their casual conversation. Mulder wished she had remained behind. He was feeling a wave of guilt forming and it was starting to gnaw at the back of his mind. It was as if Scully had come with him only to make sure he felt bad about the loss of their son. _Dammit!_

"You OK?"

Mulder realized he'd zoned off. "Yeah. Fine. Lot's on my mind, that's all."

"Oh—Kay…" Charlie said to that and Mulder detected a hint of worry in the doctor's voice.

"Seriously, I'm fine," he insisted but he could tell that Charlie didn't fully accept his words.

"If you say so," Charlie said as he stared him in the eye. He then gave Scully a quick glance.

Who was he kidding? Scully looked like she was going to a funeral. She didn't make any effort to hide her mood and why should she?

"Say, Charlie?"

"What?"

"You think you'll have some time to sit and talk?"

"Well, I've got my own surgery to have but possibly I'll have half an hour until Dawn's pre-op checkup. See you in an hour?"

"Where?"

"The lobby entrance waiting area."

"Sure," Mulder smiled.

* * *

After a pretty uneventful meeting with Dr. Shahir Hamza where Mulder lied through his teeth about continuing to take his anti-seizure meds, and Scully kept to her apathetic stance, Mulder headed down the elevator to his meeting spot with Charlie. As he pressed the ground floor button, Scully pressed the button to the third floor.

"You're not coming?"

"No," she answered.

"Are you sure? Charlie might have answers for us about William and where he went."

"I don't care where he went, Mulder." She didn't add anything else.

He wanted her to come with him, but he couldn't force her. "OK, Scully. If this is what you want."

The elevator doors parted and she got out. Mulder could see her heading right, towards William's room. At least it was the room where she last saw him. If he wasn't in an elevator with other people he would have broken down. Was he losing Scully to her grief?

The rest of his downward journey seemed excruciatingly slow, as the elevator stopped at every remaining floor and collected too many people, or beds, or wheelchairs and it took people forever to enter, or exit and Mulder felt like he was about to explode. He resisted the strong urge to yell at everybody to get their butts moving. He felt himself kneading his palms with growing unrest, trying hard not to form fists he might possibly use.

When the bell announcing they had reached the ground floor rang, he was forced to patiently wait for everybody in front of him to get out. _Don't push the nice old lady, Mulder_ , he told himself. He sure did want to grab her and shove her out of his way.

Finally out of his misery, Mulder strode quickly to the lobby's waiting area. At least Charlie was already there. One thing finally at his favor.

"Hey," Charlie greeted him as he approached the waiting area.

"Hey," Mulder responded.

"You OK?" Charlie asked once again. "Where's Dana?" he then added when he obviously realized she was missing.

Mulder sighed. "She needed some time alone. She's on the third floor."

"Oh," Charlie said somberly.

An uneasy silence fell between them. Mulder didn't come to meet him for the purpose of not talking, but there was some awkwardness about the whole situation.

Mulder decided to get the conversation moving again. "Can we go for a walk outside maybe?"

"Yeah, as long as we don't get too far away. I'm afraid Shahir might send guerilla missionaries to get me if we do," Charlie snickered.

"I know the feeling," Mulder concurred.

The two men strode outside Hope Zion's main entrance.

"You really having this operation?" Mulder asked.

"Yep."

"Is it really necessary?"

"It's complicated," Charlie sighed.

"It's just that… you have a gift. I don't think I'd get rid of it if I were you."

"I don't think of it as a gift so much. Sometimes it's more like a curse. It's not like I can discuss this with anybody. Some people think I'm crazy."

Mulder snorted. "I get that a lot."

"Yeah, I bet you do. Is this really such a good thing?" Charlie stopped in his tracks and faced Mulder.

"That's a good question. I used to think that as long as I had my truth, I couldn't care less about what others think of me."

"And now?"

"I don't know. It's not so much that I care what people think of me or of what my thoughts and ideas are, but it's the other things that happen as a result… I don't have any friends left. This craziness has cost many lives. It's changed my life and Scully's. We are scarred by it…" Mulder sighed and trailed off. They were indeed scarred. Is it still worth it?

"So you see why I need to have this surgery? If I can at least hope for a normal life. I have a son and a beautiful loving woman to consider, and maybe if it was just me dealing with this, but my… ability… it has a price…" Now Charlie trailed off.

Mulder realized Charlie wasn't telling him everything. There was more than what he had revealed. "What do you mean?"

Charlie seemed uneasy. "I don't want to go into too much detail. There's a matter of privacy to consider, but I know firsthand how this 'ability' can destroy a person."

Mulder winced. He could read between the lines that Charlie knew of others who possessed this unique gift. The 'olden days Mulder' wouldn't let a person off the hook so easily. He would have pursued this until he had proof, and he wouldn't take into account the impact this truth might have on others, but this 'new age Mulder' forced himself to quit before he caused more suffering. It's possible that some mysteries should remain as such. In this case Charlie's ability wasn't causing a global catastrophe. This wasn't the case of somebody misusing his power to hurt others. This was a decent man, just trying to find some normality within an abnormal situation. Mulder knew that maybe he himself will never have a normal life. He also knew that for him, abnormal, was normal and that's what made him tick, but this life wasn't for most people. He looked up and caught Charlie's gaze. He nodded his head and he knew Charlie understood that he wasn't going to pry any further if he didn't want him too.

The silence that began their conversation returned. Both men paced along the hospital building grounds in deep thought. Finally Mulder broke the silence once more. "Charlie, can I ask you about the experience you had with my son?"

Charlie stopped dead at his tracks and gulped. "Wow… yeah. I guess."

Mulder saw a bench ahead of them. "Maybe we should sit down," he said as he directed Charlie towards it.

As they sat, Mulder wondered about Charlie's reaction. What could have William said or done to make Charlie so apprehensive. "So…"

"Indeed…" Charlie stalled.

"What exactly happened?"

Charlie took in a deep breath and told Mulder of his experience. He ended it with the final sentence he heard right before he blacked out: "We are here. Stand by for your orders."

Mulder felt almost breathless as he listened to Charlie's account. He breathed in heavily. He found himself gripping the seat of the bench tightly, as if he clung to it for dear life. _Oh my God!_ Scully should have heard this. He was thrilled and confused and awed and shocked. He swallowed hard and tried to get a grip on his emotions.

"Mulder?"

"Yeah…"

"Hey, you're not going to faint on me right now, are you?"

Fox Mulder smiled. "It might be a bit awkward, I guess."

Charlie grinned. "A bit."

Mulder looked up at him. "Thank you."

Charlie smiled, albeit uncomfortably, unable to easily accept appreciation.

Mulder was left with his thoughts. Charlie's account gave him hope but also new reason for worry. Scully got William what she'd hoped he'd have if she left him with somebody else; for a while, William grew up like any other boy. He went to school and he had friends and parents who loved him, but it seemed that his genes had eventually caught up with him. He was different, and as such, he had begun to feel out of touch with his adoptive parents, and with his peers. He felt bad for William and he wished he was there to help him cope, but could he really? How could he relate to William's experience? Unlike William, he was … normal. At least he believed he was. Was he really?

And to add to it all, William told Scully it wasn't safe for him to stay, and now this strange message he received. Mulder realized he was used to get to William. How did they know that he would come if they hurt him? How could his son feel his pain from so far away? His hope was replaced with doubt and fear. What did all of this mean?

"Err… I need to get to my appointment with Dawn," Charlie broke into his musings.

Mulder almost jumped. He'd forgotten where he was.

"Sorry," Charlie apologized as he got up.

Mulder followed suit. "Charlie," he said as he caught up with blond man.

"Yeah?"

"Good luck. Whatever the outcome, I'm wishing you and your Alex all the best."

Charlie stood midstride and stared at Mulder. "Thanks. Really."

Mulder smiled. Yes, if they had lived nearby, they would have been good friends, of that he was sure.

"I think everything will be OK," Charlie said as he began walking again.

Mulder gave Charlie's words some thought. "Think of Alex," he told him.

"What?" Charlie seemed baffled.

"I had some procedure done on me a long time ago. I would have died, but I know for a fact that somehow during that ordeal, I always thought of Scully, and she was like a beacon in the night, and it was like she pulled me out of the abyss, so to speak. You and Alex, I can tell that you are connected to each other like Scully and myself, so just think of her. She will be your guide out of _your_ abyss, should you meet it."

Charlie Harris seemed to be contemplating Mulder's words. "I'll be alright."

They'd reached the hospital's main entrance. Mulder caught a glimpse of a familiar head of auburn hair as they approached it. Scully was waiting for him. She had managed to detach herself from William's room all on her own. He knew it. There was no stopping her. He parted with Charlie all the while inviting him to come visit should he ever come to the D.C. area, then he headed towards Scully.

As he approached her, he could see something had changed about her stance. It wasn't the same brooding mood that had lingered within her ever since they'd left the hospital. No. It was different. He tried to put a finger on it. What had changed?

"Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we finished here?"

"I think so. Anything else you want to do before we head home?"

"No. I'm done."

Mulder stared into her face. "Are you sure?"

"I'm certain there's nothing we can do out here, just as I am certain that the best hope of finding our son lies within the X-Files so let's get home and get back to work. The sooner, the better."

Mulder couldn't agree more.

 **THE END**

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 _A bit on the long side, but I felt that a good ending needed depth, and in good XF tradition, some lose ends were left... possibly for another fanfic... who knows._

 _Notes and Reviews are more than welcome._


End file.
